Stealing Home
by redkat19761
Summary: When 15-year old Edward's mother dies, he and his father and younger brother relocate from Philadelphia to Lewisburg PA. Bella, the 17-year-old girl who lives across the street, is hired to look after the boys. A romance blossoms between the two teenagers, but is it enough to beat the odds against them? Some alcohol/drug references and definitely lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: *Everything belongs to the queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine.**

_**Chapter One**_

We've been on the road for two and a-half-hours now. This trip from the big city of Philadelphia to the little rural town of Lewisburg used to seem so long when I was a child. I recall that my younger brother and I were relentless with the "Are we there yet?"s and the "I'm bored"s. My mother, as always calmed us. She would sing or tell stories about the place we were traveling to, the town she and my father grew up in. She kept us entertained with letter and word hunting games, utilizing the frequent road signs between big city and small town. The memory of all of that makes me silently cringe, but I try to fight the sadness that is bubbling up inside me, ready to burst at the seams. I absent-mindedly rub my neck, which has become stiff after looking out the passenger-side window for several hours.

"Edward, for the third time, take some ibuprofen," my father's voice from the driver's seat startles me out of my trance. "It's in the bag in the backseat." I look back to see Emmett, my 12-year-old brother, glaring at me from the seat behind my father. I shoot him a knowing look. He hands me the bag from the back. I rummage through the snacks and other amenities and finally locate the bottle. I twist the cap, remove three capsules and grab the now-warm bottle of water from the console. I choke down the pills and hope that my sadness and fears are chased down with them. My eyes are now closed and I pray for sleep. I swear I can hear my mother's voice whisper, "sleep baby" and I finally succumb to the deepest sleep I've had in weeks

Nearly an hour later, my body and mind are jolted from their slumber as I feel my father's Range Rover begin to travel over the gravelly road and come to a near complete stop. I open my eyes and see that night time has fallen over the small town of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. My father puts the SUV in park and removes the key from the ignition as I look up to the two-story brick colonial that is my new home. I'd only seen it in photos before coming here. The realtor's site had boasted "heated pool" and "charming neighborhood". I step out of the SUV and glance behind me. There is a small home almost directly across from ours and another home, with grand stature, just at the end of the cul-de-sac. I briefly wonder who occupies these homes and then shake the thoughts from my head. No. I must not become attached to anything here. I've convinced myself that I only need to get through the next three years of high school here. I'll bury myself in my studies and baseball. Then, I can go to college back in Philly and return to my normal life. Well, normal minus one main factor. The temporary stay in Lewisburg is just a stepping stone for me. _Temporary_. That is the word I have been searching for. Temporary.

I hear the sound of a window being forced open and I glance up at the source. It is the cape-cod style home across from my temporary residence. I barely see a wisp of dark hair blow and graze the windowsill, but before my mind can even register it, the blind is pulled down. Friendly neighbors, I see. So much for "charming."

"Edward, can you help me unload the car please?" my father's voice once again comes out of the silence.

The movers have been here already. My father must have shelled out a small fortune to have all of our belongings delivered and set up in the home prior to our arrival. I am almost relieved to not have to carry any furniture upstairs. Almost relieved, yet not relieved at all. Temporary, I tell myself again.

I lug my duffle bag into the house, following close behind Emmett who, for the first time since he started talking 11-years ago, has nothing to say. He resisted this move almost as much as I did. "A fresh start," my father had said. We moved here to be closer to our grandfather who resides in a nearby assisted living home. I didn't want "a fresh start". I wanted my old life back. I wanted my mother. That was not temporary.

"Why don't you boys go upstairs and find your rooms? I'm going to call and order a pizza. We're all hungry."

I look at my little brother, who is waiting to follow my lead. I give him the nod of approval, "Let's go," and then head for the stairs without a word to my father.

Emmett's room is the first at the top of the steps. We can only tell it is his because of the furniture. Nothing else says that it belongs to him. No shelves with his many karate trophies and ribbons. No posters of his favorite Eagle's players. No photo on the nightstand of a 7-year-old, toothless, smiling Emmett with his arms around my mother, as she lovingly looks down at him.

"Let's find your room," my brother finally utters. "I'm sick of this shit already." Finally, a smile spreads across my face. We head farther down the hall and find my temporary bedroom. It too, is only obvious because my furniture inhabits it. My temporary room has two large windows that go almost to the floor. They face the front yard and the little cape-cod across the street. The windows are cracked, allowing the fresh Pennsylvania air to travel in. I go over to one window and pull back the blue curtain that hangs there. The blinds that were just closed on the little cape-cod are now open once again and a small amount of light emanates from the room. A figure travels back and forth in front of the window, speaking into a phone and waving arms furiously around. The figure sparks my interest momentarily but then, as if it can tell that I have noticed, it reaches toward the window and once again the blinds have shut me out for the second time this evening. Charming neighborhood indeed.

The next morning I awaken with a startle. It's that feeling you get when you wake up in unfamiliar territory. That initial, "where am I?" I wonder if that feeling will ever go away here. My ears pick up on faint voices and I have to ask myself if this is all a cruel dream. Then, I swear that I hear a girl giggling. Now, I definitely know I'm dreaming. I should probably go get a shower to wake me up from this momentary psychosis.

I have found one feature I enjoy in my temporary room, my very own bathroom. I take advantage of the time alone and let the hot water massage my sore muscles. Up until 3 weeks ago, my days were filled with baseball drills and conditioning. Once we are settled, I'll have to locate a place to continue my training. I may not like living here, but I'll never give up on baseball. I made a promise to her that I wouldn't.

My relaxing and much-deserved shower is interrupted by an obnoxious banging on the bathroom door, "No Emmett! I'm not done yet. Go away," I moan.

"Quit jacking off and get out here douche bag," God. Just go away.

"I'll be out when I'm finished." Silence. Then, a laugh and I know what he's thinking. "I'm not jacking off, asshole!"

"Well, you will be. Get out here."

I turn off the water because I know my little brother, and I also know, by his tone, he will not relent. I hope that the sound of the shower turning off at least shuts him up. I quickly dry off and wrap the towel around my waist before exiting the bathroom. I find Emmett in front of my window, holding the curtain back as far as it will go. He is alerted to my presence, but can barely take his eyes off of whatever entertainment is going on outside.

"Seriously dude, you should start working out. You're never gonna pitch a no-hitter with those arms."

I ignore his taunting, "What do you need me to see so urgently?" I cross the room to the open curtain. "Bro. Check . It. Out," he punctuates each word. I roll my eyes, half-expecting to see an interesting bug or perhaps a circus coming down our street. I am completely unprepared for the sight that is laid out before me. There is a half-naked teenage girl washing her car in the driveway of the cape-cod. She's hot. No. Not hot. That word does her no justice. Beautiful? Understatement. Perfect? That's more appropriate. Starting at the top, a perfect face framed by perfectly beautiful brown waves. Perfect breasts that are plumping out of a string bikini top. Perfect waist and curves in all of the right places. Perfect muscular legs, which I'm gifted with a perfect view of, thanks to the very short jean shorts she is wearing. My eyes widen as she bends over to dip her sponge in the soapy water and I am treated to her perfectly heart-shaped backside. She lays the sponge on the hood, then combs her fingers through her hair, pulling it into a high ponytail. My breath catches in my throat. This dream-come-true is not what I expected. I turn to Emmett who looks like the Cheshire cat. I try to hide my interest, "A girl washing her car? Really Em? That's what I got out of the shower for?"

"It just took you an entire sixty seconds to be able to speak. Don't even try to pretend you're not interested in that fine piece of ass," Emmett raises his brows. I pull back the curtain once more and Miss Perfect looks up from her soapy-sponging to catch me ogling her from the window. I try to quickly release the curtain, but I swear I see her smile before my view is blocked.

"So?" I feign disinterest again.

"So? What do you think of Nanny Bella?"

"Nanny Bella? What are you _talking _about Emmett?"

"That…" Emmett thumbs towards the window, "…is our new baby-sitter."

What?

Apparently my father has hired, as he likes to call her, a "housekeeper," someone, who will take care of the interior of the home, which includes me and Emmett.

"Bella will make sure the two of you are taken care of while I'm working crazy hours for the hospital. She won't sleep here, but she's close by if you need anything. Not to mention, her father is the chief of police. Chief Swan's not home very often, so Bella's alone a lot. She needs the extra money for college next year. Charlie is relieved to know there are a doctor and another teenager looking out for her when he's not here. It works out for everyone. Bella will be in charge of cooking your meals and driving the two of you to and from school, along with after school activities and sports."

"_Seriously_ Dad? _A baby-sitter_? I'm not a _child_." I can't believe I'm going to be a sophomore and my father thinks I need to be monitored.

"No. You are not, but you can't drive yet. You have no idea how to cook anything and I can't imagine you know the first thing about cleaning. Your mother did all of those things for you!" he yells and his words sting. I cringe and he realizes he's hit a nerve.

"How…how old _is_…she?" He understands my question immediately, and I worry he knows both reasons behind it. He answers, "Sixteen, nearly seventeen. She's going to be a senior. She's aware of your age and there will be no inappropriate behavior in my house Edward! I've already spoken to her about this. She has a boyfriend," And I know, by his answer, that he fully understands both reasons for my question.

"Why am I just finding out about this now? How long ago did you speak with her?"

"Last week, when I was here to finish closing on the house. Look, she's a nice girl, the daughter of the police chief. It makes me feel better to know that there is a female taking care of my sons."

I realize in that moment what this is about. I'll try to keep my mouth shut about it. Not to mention, Bella driving me around in her mustang doesn't sound too bad. I just won't talk about anything personal with her. No need to get close to anyone. I'm only here temporarily.

"Why don't you come outside and meet her? Emmett already has. He was awake when she stopped by this morning. He had her laughing already," My brother, the eternal comedian. Great, already the twelve-year-old has more charisma with the ladies than I do.

"I…I can't go out there. I…um…never finished showering and uh…my clothes…my clothes…I don't know where anything is…Dad, please don't make me meet her just yet. I need to uh…prepare," My father gives me a discerning look.

"Go get dressed Edward." And I do.

I take the opportunity to sneak another quick peek out my window, but Bella is long gone, her car missing from the driveway. I ponder the situation that has been forced upon me. This could go one of two ways. I could be the coolest guy in the tenth grade with Bella at my beck and call. Or I could be the loser fifteen-year-old with a baby-sitter. Something tells me it will be the latter.

We spend the rest of the day unpacking, sorting and organizing things into our new home. So many things remind me of my mom and I wonder if this will ever get any easier.

It's late in the afternoon that Friday when Bella's mustang pulls back into the driveway and I realize I've yet to see her father, the chief. I've mentally prepared to go introduce myself, but I am completely blind-sided when a very muscular guy climbs out of her passenger side. He's all brawn and muscle and looks like he could play college football. His t-shirt indicates that he may. He follows Bella into the house and I have to look away when I see him playfully swat her ass as they head inside the front door. No. Chief Swan will not be home for awhile it seems. I can't think about the things that may happen behind the closed blinds now.

It's Monday morning before I see the police cruiser in front of the Swan residence. Weekends must be a busy time for crime in Lewisburg. Bella and "Brawnie" came and went all weekend. I could hear her giggles from time to time when I was in my temporary room. But then, late last night, I heard otherwise. I heard yelling, arguing. I heard words like "slut" and "cheating" and "fuck off". If I had a set of balls I would have gone over there and stopped it. I imagined myself breaking through the front door and rescuing Bella from Brawnie's clutches. Then, the thought of him with his hands on her sickened me and I prayed that the yelling was just that, verbal and not physical. Teenage couples fight, right? They yell and call each other names. My parents rarely argued and I've never had a serious girlfriend so I have nothing to compare it to. I just know that if Bella were my girl, I wouldn't call her names.

My dad starts working tomorrow at the hospital and Bella starts her job here, at the house. Apparently, she also works at the local grocery store but she may be able to quit since my father her is paying her a hefty amount of money to be our chauffer and chef. Emmett and I start school here in one week. We visited my grandfather yesterday. He is my mom's father. He cried when he first saw us, but said he's doing better now. He likes it at the home. My father offered to let him live with us when he first decided to move us here. Pop declined. "Look at all of these beautiful women here," he winked at one of the staff members and she smiled at him and touched his shoulder. It's probably a good thing Bella doesn't have to worry about taking care of him too.

I'm eating a bowl of cereal in the kitchen when there is a knock at the side door. We aren't expecting any visitors. Hell, we don't even know anyone here. I put my bowl down and slowly walk over to answer it. Where are my father and Emmett? I tense up when I see a man in a police uniform on our stoop. "Hello," I say timidly.

"You must be Edward? Or Emmett? I forget what Carlisle told me," Chief Swan rubs his face.

"Edward."

"Yes. Well _Edward._ I'm Chief Swan. Is Carlisle…uh your dad here?"

"Yes sir. Please come in." At that moment Carlisle enters the room out of breath, "Sorry Chief. I was just going through some boxes upstairs and forgot you were coming. Edward, would you go check on your brother?" I may be a teenager, but I can take a hint. So, I leave. Emmett's upstairs in his room playing Madden on the Playstation.

"Is Charlie here to discuss the incident last night?" my brother asks without taking his eyes off the screen. Incident?

"What incident?"

He throws his controller to the floor and curses at Michael Vick, "Um, the _situation_ last night between Bella and that fucktard. You fell asleep and Dad went over to check on her, called the chief and everything. Jacob left before Chief Swan got home."

Brawnie has a name and it's a biblical reference. _Interesting._ This is all new information to me, but I am relieved to know that Bella is OK. Or is she? Was this the love of her life? Will she be angry with Dad? Will she decide not to work here after all?

"Boys…please come down here," my father's voice interrupts my assessment of the situation. Emmett and I jump up and run downstairs. Along with a knowing smile from Dad and a serious hairy eyeball from Chief Swan, I am welcomed by the most beautiful smile at the bottom of our stairs. Bella. In a dress. A dress that shows her perfectly toned arms, perfectly tanned legs and her perfectly round breasts that are peeking out the top ever-so slightly. She looks me up and down and, for a second, I am pleased with myself. Then I realize I am only in a pair of Under Armour shorts. No shirt. Barefeet. Stupid, stupid, stupid. My face heats. Bella takes a deep breath and appears a little red in the face as well. "Hi," she says and her voice is like music to my ears. She _is _perfect. Perfect for me. My stomach does strange things…down deep inside me.

"How's it goin' doll?" Emmett addresses her as he slides beside me and lays a kiss on each of her cheeks. He's nearly her height and she does not have to bend down to allow him to do so.

"You're so funny Em," Bella giggles and twirls her hair. What. The. Fuck? Emmett sucker punches me in the gut and I sputter. "Eddie, don't leave this beautiful lady hangin'. Introduce yourself."

Bella looks up at me through long lashes. She smiles that beautiful smile and extends her hand, "I'm Bella. You're official driver. Don't worry. I won't charge you gas money."

I smile. Bella is the reason for my smile. I haven't smiled a whole lot recently, but I suddenly have reason to. There's so much I want to say to this girl. So much I would ask her. I look her in the eyes and the only thing that comes out of my mouth is…

"Hi." What is wrong with me? I can't bring myself to say anything else. My stomach continues to do those strange _deep _things and I'm forced to turn my attention to my father.

Dad explains that Bella will take us grocery shopping tomorrow, as we will need things for the week. Bella offers to take us to get school supplies too. I think I can get used to this whole baby-sitting situation. Chief Swan's pager goes off and he excuses himself to take the call.

"Look. Dr. Cullen. I just wanted to say thank you for…um…last night. Jake and I have been fighting all summer about…stuff. I know he wouldn't hurt me so I wasn't scared, but I did want him gone, and you helped. I'm sorry it happened and I promise to never bring my issues to this house."

Issues? What issues?

"I appreciate that Bella. I know how young love can be. It means a lot to me and my family to have you here to help out with the boys. I fully intend to keep an eye out for you as well."

"Thank you Dr. Cullen. Well, today is my last shift at the grocery store. So, uh I better get going," Bella turns toward the front door then stops dead in her tracks. "Edward, how about I give you my cell number so you can call me in the morning when you and Emmett are ready to go? Better yet, give me yours and I'll text you mine," she pulls her iPhone from the pocket in her dress. I give her the digits and she's out the door before I can utter a coherent goodbye. An hour later when I check my phone, I have a text from Miss Perfect.

*This is Bella Talk to you in the morning. By the way, I really liked your Under Armour this morning*

I read and re-read the text a thousand times over the course of the day. This girl's is going to be the death of me.

"Dude,"Emmett interrupts my naughty thoughts of Bella complementing me on my shorts and possibly what's in them, "did you spank it to thoughts of Bella in that sundress yet?"

"Emmett!"

"'Cause I did," and with that I throw my phone towards the door at my brother. It bounces off his stomach and the little prick catches it. He looks at the screen, "Yeah, exactly what I thought." He tosses my phone back to me. I look back at the screen forgetting the message I had typed back to Bella, but was too nervous to send.

*Not as much as I liked your dress*

**A/N: This is my first try at a fic. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading. Kisses from the redkat!**

***Follow me on twitter RedKat1976 and outfits for chapters are up on Polyvore: redkat19761**

** stealing_home_chapter_one/set?id=91054224**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: *Everything belongs to the queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine.**

_**Chapter Two**_

Things all begin to fall into place with our new "baby-sitter". Our days go something like this. Dad works long hours at the hospital. Emmett and I fend for ourselves as far as breakfast and lunch are concerned. We only call Bella if we need a ride somewhere. Bella comes over around 4:00 each day to start dinner. She stays with us until around ten o'clock. Dad offered up the guest room to her if she ever needs it or for when she has to stay. Emmett and I help Bella with the cleaning and laundry. Seriously, do I want Bella folding my underwear? Sometimes I wonder what my dad was thinking. Other than that, we hang out by the pool and talk. Emmett makes us both laugh so hard our stomachs hurt. I find things out about Bella I wish I didn't know. She's very popular apparently, but has few close friends. I haven't seen Jacob since the "incident".

On Friday, Bella takes me and Emmett to the local office supply store to pick up requirements for our first day of school. Dad gives us the Black AMEX . We pick up all of our necessities, and Emmett even lets Bella pick out some new clothes for him. He's growing like a weed.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like Bella and I have connected on some level. Or maybe she just has the ability to make anyone feel that way. Maybe that's why she's so popular, but I like to believe that she trusts me. I like to believe that she feels something…stronger…for me, but maybe that's just my teenage hormones working overtime. So even though we've grown close very quickly, and tell each other everything, I'm still shocked when Bella utters this question when we pull up to a red light,

"So, cancer sucks huh?"

Silence falls over the entire car. I'm not sure Emmett is even breathing. My head snaps in Bella's direction. We haven't talked about my mother at all. Did Dad tell her? And when? How long has she known?

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean…I didn't mean to upset you. I just th-"

"You're right. It does suck," Emmett echoes Bella's sentiment.

"Um…my Gram Swan. She died of breast cancer right after my mom left. It was a difficult time for us, watching her suffer like that." This is the first I have ever heard Bella mention her mother.

"Our mom had ovarian cancer," Emmett mutters.

"I'm sorry that you had to suffer through that," Bella looks directly at me, then into the rearview mirror at Emmett. The light turns green.

"Just know, that if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here. I mean, I was even younger than Emmett when I lost my Gram, but I can help however you need me to."

No one speaks. Bella clears her throat and I can tell she's embarrassed and internally kicking herself for bringing it up. I'm angry. Talking about my mom's illness makes me so angry. Bella finally breaks the silence one last time, "So, are my boys up for some pizza? I know a place around the corner with the best bread sticks."

And with that, the conversation about my mother's death is effectively over. At least it's out in the open now. Bella broke the ice for us. Hopefully I don't have to worry about answering that question again, for now anyway.

It's Friday so Dad's working all night. So is Chief Swan. Emmett is upstairs playing Madden. Bella and I are in sitting on the patio, eating salsa and chips and drinking coke. She has decided to stay over and sleep in the guest room. It's the first time she'll be spending the night. I figured this would happen from time to time. I just didn't think it would be this soon. I wonder why a popular girl like Bella doesn't have plans on a Friday night, but apparently her dad has grounded her for the Jake incident on Sunday. She's not allowed to go anywhere, especially with Jake. I thought they had broken up, but she's been texting back and forth with him all night.

"So…uh, your mom left?"

"Yes Edward. The stupid bitch left me and my dad when I was 5. It's done. I'm over it," Bella pretends to be very interested in the straw in her coke.

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say to that?"

"Well, I don't want to pry. If it's none of my business, just say so."

"It's none of your business."

Her phone alerts her of another text message. She reads and then begins typing furiously. She no sooner puts the phone down and it buzzes again.

"Stupid fucker!" she growls and tosses her phone onto the table, "I'm not even reading that." Bella sits back and folds her arms.

"Is that um…Jake?"

She hesitates. She thinks about what she wants to say before she finally speaks.

"Jake's at a party tonight. I was supposed to go," she shrugs, " This girl, Leah, is there. She's been after Jake all summer. Someone just sent me a picture of her sitting on his lap."

_Oh. He sounds like a keeper._

Bella concentrates hard and then begins again, "Just don't say anything. Okay? I'm going to tell you some things and I don't want you to say anything. Don't judge. Okay? Just listen."

I pretend to lock my lips and throw the key over my shoulder.

"Jake and I have been together almost a year. I'm not sure I really love him, but I…I gave myself to him, she hangs her head with embarrassment as she says it, "Do you know what I'm saying Edward?" She scrunches her nose. I simply nod my head. My stomach feels like it's going to hurl, but I allow her to continue.

"It's hard to just…let someone go after…_that_. You'll see. Someday." How does she know I'm a virgin? _Oh right_, because I reek of inexperience.

"You're not going to want to let that first time…to let that girl go," she pauses and looks back down at her coke, "I think Jake wants me to get jealous. I think he knows he's losing me. He wants me to fight for him and I won't. If Leah wants him, she can have him. It will make letting him go easier."

I nod my head, but I don't way a word. Bella giggles and rolls her eyes, "Okay. You can speak now."

I would, but I have nothing to say. Actually, I have a lot to say. I want to say, "Get rid of that asshole! You can do better. He doesn't deserve you. You should be with a guy like me."

But none of that will do me any good. I do, however, stand up and offer her my hand. "I could really go for some ice cream. Chocolate?"

Bella accepts my hand and smiles. Chocolate it is.

The following morning Bella convinces me to go hiking with her at Shikellamy State Park. She's still grounded, but she persuades the chief that it's part of her "job". He probably figures she's one hundred percent safe with me. Emmett and my dad go to visit my Pop at the home so they can take him out for lunch.

It's about a twenty-minute drive to the park and Bella is unusually quiet for the entire trip. I assume it's because of Jake. He stopped texting her last night. She kept checking her phone, but I didn't ask any questions. Lock and throw away the key.

We walk for a short time and find an overlook to sit down at. Bella pulls some bottles of water out of her backpack. We sit with our bodies facing each other on the bench, but our eyes scan the captivating view.

Bella speaks out over the stillness, "So, tell me about baseball, _Edward_."

I gaze at her and grin, "What would you like to know, _Bella._"

"How good are you?"

"That's a question about me, not baseball."

Bella giggles my favorite giggle and hugs her knees into her chest, "Okay, so maybe we're talking about you then, I suppose." She rolls her eyes at me, but I know she's teasing.

"I was the Varsity starting pitcher as a freshman at my old school. It doesn't really matter how good I am though. I love the game and I would play even if I sucked."

"I wish I was that good at something," she drops her chin to the tops of her knees.

"You're pretty good at being a baby-sitter," I taunt her and a smile spreads across her face.

"Please don't call me that Edward," she's rolling her eyes at me again and changes the subject.

"What are you particularly good at…in baseball? What makes _you_ so special?"

"Stealing home," I say with confidence, "I'm known for stealing home plate."

Bella looks intently at me, eying me warily. It's as if she's searching for something in my eyes. I search for something in hers as well. I feel something inside of me ignite. It's a new feeling to me. If I were older, if I were more experienced, if I had any idea what the hell I was doing, I would kiss her in this moment. But I'm not and I can't.

We stare out over the view below. The leaves are still green and remain on all of the trees. They will begin to turn colors soon. Bella and I agree to come back in early October to see how they've changed.

On the way back to the house, Bella tells me something that both elates me and scares me all at once.

"Just so you know…we'll still hang out…after we go back to school," she never takes her eyes off of the road, " I like spending time with you Edward. You're… different…you don't expect things from me…which makes me want to give you…everything."

My first day at my new school is fairly uneventful. Though I recited my "temporary mantra" over and over this morning, I somehow managed to meet some new people. I have several classes with a kid named Jasper. He seemed the popular jock-type so I was surprised at how cool he was with me. Turns out he plays baseball too, along with football. Apparently, Lewisburg's football team is pretty good and they've made it into the state playoffs the past two years. Jasper informs me that the baseball team is pretty decent too and they are in need of a new pitcher.

"You'll have to outdo Jacob Black," Jasper enlightens me at lunch. He glances over in the vicinity of where Jacob and his gaggle of assholes are eating lunch. Why does this prick have to keep entering my world?

"He thinks he's better than he is," Jasper continues, "and Coach Martz can't stand him, so you may have a shot. Other than the fact that he's a senior and you're only a sophomore."

I feel someone's hands cover my eyes from behind.

"If you guess who it is, I'll remove my hands," the perfect voice speaks and I get that feeling in my stomach once again. _Twenty-three_. That's how many times I've experienced that feeling since meeting Bella. I place my hands on top of hers and say, "Angelina Jolie."

"_No_. Try again."

"Bella?"

She releases her hands and plops down on the chair behind me. Jasper looks between the two of us cautiously.

"Hey Jasper. So how's your first day, _fellas_?"

I'm somewhat accustomed to the effect that Bella inflicts on people, but Jasper evidently is not. He's speechless for the first time all day.

"It's actually, surprisingly, not too bad. And yours?" I ask.

"Eh…okay. I have two classes with Jake," she glances his way and my eyes follow, finding a very angry Jake glaring in my direction. I wonder if they've spoken since Friday night.

"_Oh shit_," I hear Jasper release a breath from the seat next to me.

"Don't worry about Jake. He's like a chihuahua, all bark and no bite."

Jasper laughs aloud. I do not.

As Jasper and I walk to our next class, his curiosity gets the best of him.

"Dude, Isabella Swan had her hands on you. How the hell do you know her already? You've only been here a week!"

"Oh…uh Bella…yeah…she's my neighbor," I shrug

Bella decided it's best for me if we just tell people we're neighbors. It's easier that way. I was surprised to learn that she hadn't even told Jake about the whole "baby-sitting" thing. She said she told him when my father first approached her that the new doctor had two boys he wanted her to help out with. She said she hasn't mentioned it since and Jake probably forgot about it.

"Listen, man, I don't want to tell you what to do, being that we just met, but if you're smart you'll back off of her," Jasper tells me discreetly.

"What? Why?"

"I saw the way Jacob Black was eyeing you in the cafeteria. I wouldn't go down that road if I were you."

"You're right," I reply, "We did just meet, which is why you don't know that… I have nothing to lose."

The rest of the day goes off without a hitch. Lewisburg is your typical High School. There are the usual classification of cliques, the jocks, the popular girls, the geeks, the stoners , the honor students. I don't plan on fitting into any group here. My goal is to remain on the outside periphery. Just make t through the next three years I tell myself.

When I get to Bella's car in the parking lot at the end of the day, I find her in the front seat with some guy leaning over her window talking to her. He hears me approach and stands upright quickly.

"Relax," I hear her say to him, "He's cool. He's with me."

I open the passenger side door and throw my backpack in the back seat.

"Edward, this is Riley. He's a friend. Riley, Edward."

I nod in his direction and he does the same. Bella starts the car.

"See ya Riley. Thanks," she waves and backs out of the parking lot. We head over to pick Emmett up at the Middle School in silence.

"Jessica Stanley is totally into you Edward. I heard her and Angela discussing your um…assets in the locker room today," Bella gives me the side glance from her driver's seat, "She's a sophomore too. You should make your move. I bet she'd make out with you after the game on Friday," she waggles her eyebrows at me.

"Cool," I respond with no emotion.

"Eddie, you've never even gotten to first base. I saw you making out with Lauren last year on Mom's couch. You didn't even know where to put your hands. I wanted to walk over there and take both of your hands and put them on her tits for you."

Bella giggles. I throw my head back on the seat and close my eyes. For some reason I'm not in the mood for either of their antics.

"Oh come on Eddie. I'm just messin' with ya."

"Yeah well I'm not in the mood Emmett. Okay?" I run my hands through my hair and over my face. The car becomes quiet and I guess I got my point across.

A few hours later, I'm sitting on my bed finishing the last of my homework assignments. Most of my classes are AP so I wasn't surprised to have this much on the first night. Dad's home tonight. I hear a knock on my door.

"Enter," I say as I close my geometry book.

"Hey bud. Emmett and I decided on Thai food tonight. Sound good?"

"Yeah…uh Pad Thai and some spring rolls for me."

"I'm going to order a few different things. Why don't you go over and ask Bella if she wants to join us. I know it's her night off, but Charlie's working late again.

I walk into the Swan house through the front door and yell for her.

"In here," she calls from the kitchen. I'm dumbfounded when I find her at the kitchen table with some rolling papers and a little baggie.

"Hey, sit down," she commands, "What's up?"

I'm frozen still. Bella smokes weed? How did I not know this? I've never seen her stoned. I don't know what to say, what to think.

"Um…is that…uh?"

"Yeah. You want a hit?"

"Does your dad let you do that in here?"

"Edward, do you _think _my dad knows I do this in here?" I hate when she answers my questions with a question.

She licks the paper and funnels some more in, then taps it three times on the table. She lights it, presses it to her lips, and takes a long hit. Her eyes close, but I can't seem to take mine off her perfect mouth.

"Why do you do this?"

"It relaxes me," she pauses, " I was stressed with the first day of school and all. Here," she passes the joint to me and, of course, I take it because I'll do anything she asks me to.

"Put it between your lips," she instructs me, "Good. Now deep breath," her voice is soft and raspy and sexy as all hell. She could talk me into jumping from a damn bridge right now. I follow her directions and instantly feel a burning in my lungs. My entire body starts to tingle. I savor it. It feels…cathartic. When I finally open my eyes and look at Bella, she's smiling and staring at my mouth. I exhale. Suddenly I'm aware of the house we are in, but time seems to stand still. I've never been high before and I wonder if this is normal. Bella takes the joint from my fingertips and puts it to her lips once more. She is a pro at this and I, once again, am lacking experience.

I stare at Bella, and _God_ she's beautiful like this. _Perfect_. I notice for the first time her bare legs partially under the table. She's wearing a t-shirt and her panties. I stare at her perfect skin and itch to touch it. She catches me staring, but I'm too high to care. She puts the joint down and takes my left hand in both of hers, lifting it to her mouth. She kisses the tips of each of my fingers, her eyes never leaving mine.

"You're beautiful Edward Cullen. I never thought I would agree with Jessica Stanley about anything, but _fuck_ if I haven't noticed your assets."

Bella releases her right hand from mine and begins running her fingers through my hair. I close my eyes and lean into her touch. It feels amazing. Is this really happening, or is it part of the high? I don't know nor do I care. I imagine Bella on top of me and grabbing my hair in ecstasy. I imagine kissing her soft lips and making her mine.

A buzzing sound interrupts my naughty thoughts. The buzzing may have lasted a few seconds or a few minutes. I have no idea. I finally come to the realization that it's my phone. I reach for it, effectively ending my touchy-feely session with Bella. Shit! Emmett has been calling me.

"Shit! Emmett. Dinner. I need to go home. Is…will…will they know? Can they tell? I smell it. Shit Bella! I can smell it. Will they smell it on me?"

Bella begins to giggle, "You're just paranoid Edward. Relax."

She rubs her hands up and down my arm. God, I want to touch her so badly.

"Dinner…uh…I was supposed to come over and see if you wanted to have some Thai take-out with us from Siam. "

"Mmmmmm…can I have Pad Thai?"

"You can have whatever you want," I answer a little too quickly sounding completely desperate.

"OK. Listen to me Edward. You're not that high. Call Emmett and tell him you're helping me with my homework and you'll be home in a few minutes. In the meantime, I'll put some clothes on," she looks down at her legs and my eyes follow. She's not embarrassed in the slightest. She stands from the table and I am gifted with a quick view of her little panties. I think I'm still too high to get hard. _Thank God_.

"Edward, you'll be fine," she looks at me over her right shoulder before she goes upstairs, " I'll be right over, OK? Don't act paranoid. Your dad's a doctor, he'll figure you out. Be cool."

The first week of school goes by in a flash. I find that I have a lot in common with Jasper. I've talked to my best friends from home almost every day, but it's nice to have a friend here. He's also introduced me to some other people, but I won't get close to them. Bella and Jasper and that's it. No other attachments. Jasper fills me in on all the gossip at LHS. I swear he's worse than a housewife with nothing else to do. I learn that if I want to get laid easily, I should ask Jessica or Angela out; I should stay away from Riley because he sells weed, which I already had figured out; Jasper has it bad for this chick named Alice who's in our second period AP English class; I should steer clear of Jacob and his posse, which includes Paul and Sam. It's football season though and Jasper says that's good because the guys are trying to be on their best behavior at school so they're not benched.

Bella takes me to and from school and usually checks in on me at lunch. The subject of what happened between us on Monday night is never brought up, by me or Bella anyway. Emmett on the other hand…

"You need to tell me Edward. I need details."

It's Friday afternoon and Bella just left to pick up a pizza for the three of us. Emmett and I are sitting on the back patio. Lewisburg's first football game is tonight and Bella is taking us.

"I told you already. Nothing happened," I lie.

"Bullshit! You came back over here in some sort of sex-induced haze and you and Bella couldn't take your eyes off of each other. Then, there's the matter of me calling you for ten minutes before you answered your phone. _Something _happened."

"Fine, there was _something_, but really it was _nothing_.

"Oh that makes perfect sense Edward."

I prop my elbows on my knees and run my hands over my face and through my hair. The truth is, I haven't stopped thinking about what happened in Bella's kitchen on Monday night. In my fantasy version of it, however, it is much more exciting. I've jerked off all week in the shower picturing how Bella's bare legs looked and her panties. _Fuck._ I picture what her perfect tits must look like unclothed and how they would feel in my hands. I picture what she would look like beneath me. The reality is I don't have the balls to do anything like that. My inexperience with girls is really starting to piss me off.

"She touched me. That's it. Okay?"

"Details," Emmett pulls his chair in closer.

"She was in a t-shirt and that's it," I finally confess.

"I'm followin' ya. Keep going."

I roll my eyes at my brother, "She was rubbing my arms and then she was playing with my hair and…that's all."

"That is the most pathetic story I have ever he…"

"What's pathetic," her perfect voice speaks from the patio door. Bella is balancing a pizza in one hand and a liter of soda in the other. I rush over to help her, but not before I give Em the "hairy eyeball", implying to shut the hell up.

Bella and I sit in the student section. There are quite a few kids I recognize from my classes. Jessica Stanley is one of them. She parks herself right next to me. Bella wiggles her eyebrows at me. If she only knew what those things did to me. I make conversation with Jessica because I am polite. It really doesn't go beyond that, but I can sense that Bella is becoming…jealous? I don't know why. She's the one sitting there in Jacob's away jersey and his number written on her cheek in black eye liner. Apparently, they're back on. _News to me_.

Emmett has gone off with his new friends, most of which are twelve and thirteen-year-old girls. I haven't seen him since we got here. The end of the game is nearing so I text him to meet us at the car. Lewisburg has its first victory of the season. Bella informs me that it's tradition for the player's girlfriends to wait outside the locker room so I'll have to wait for her. Jessica, who apparently has been listening in on our conversation, interrupts.

"Angela can take you and your brother home. She just got her license."

"Hmph…did you hear that Edward? Angela can take you home," Bella's using this sickening sweet voice that is not anything like hers. Maybe she _is_ jealous.

"There's a party at Eric Yorkie's tonight," Jessica informs me, "We could drop your brother off and you could come with us," she motions between her and Angela.

I look over at Bella in Jacob's green and white jersey and the number twenty-nine on her cheek. It makes my response very easy.

"Sure Jess. That sounds good."

After finding Emmett, we exit the stadium. I see Bella standing by the field house with a group of other desperate girlfriends waiting for their football Gods. I really hadn't pegged Bella for that type. _Whatever_. I'm learning there's a lot about Bella that surprises me. I notice Alice Brandon standing there as well, with Jasper's number written on her cheek. Good for him. I smile.

"What has you all smiley Mr. Cullen?" Jessica's sickening sweet voice startles me. I forgot I was even with the girls. I look at Jess. She is pretty, if you're into blondes. Jasper's words about her being easy echo through my head and it gives me an idea, an idea that would not make my mother proud, an idea that is not like me at all.

"You," I respond and wrap my arm around her shoulder.

**A/N: That crazy Jessica. She creeps up in almost every story, doesn't she?**

**I was shocked when I checked my messages and found I had followers! You chicas are the best! My original plan for this story was to drag out the relationship for Bella and Edward, but you know how those horny teenagers are. They're running the show now. **

**My goal is for this story to update every Friday/Saturday. I'm working on another crazy plotline that's been running through my head for a while now and plan on positing that as well. I also have an entry for the "Dirty Talking Edward Contest" but I can't reveal that one yet. Kisses from the redkat.**

**See you next week!**

***Follow me on twitter RedKat1976 and outfits for chapters are up on Polyvore: redkat19761**

** stealing_home_chapter_one/set?id=91054224**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer: *Everything belongs to the queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine._**

**_Chapter Three_**

Angela drops Emmett of at my house. My dad just got home from the hospital. _Thank God_. For whatever reason, he lets me go to the party without too many questions.

"Home at midnight, okay?"

"Got it, Dad."

I'm relieved when we get to Eric's house and find Jasper there. Alice is at his side. We exchange a quick manly handshake slash one armed hug and I congratulate him on the win tonight.

"Edward, this is Alice."

I introduce myself and Alice admits she recognizes me from AP English. She's a cute bubbly little thing. We discuss Mrs. Cope's mustache and wonder why she doesn't wax it off. Seriously, if you're working with teenagers, you really should be more aware of things like that.

"Here with Stanley, huh?' Japer lifts his chin and looks across the room, then takes a sip from his blue Solo cup.

"Yeah, pretty much," I shrug my shoulders and get Jessica in my line of vision from across the room. She holds up two solo cups, indicating she has gotten me a beer.

"Well, good thing because Bella's here with Jacob," he nods his head toward the couch where Bella and Jacob are seated, "You'll be safe if you're with another chick. Speaking of safe, do you need protection?" Jasper leans over and speaks in a low voice.

I shake my head emphatically. I'm listening to Jasper but I can't take my eyes off of Bella. She's changed into a pair of tight jeans that sit below her hips and a grey tank top, which is low-cut enough for her tits to stick out the top. She sits down on Jacob's lap while he tries to talk to another kid I recognize from school. He tickles her stomach and she giggles that giggle _I love_. Bella pulls out her phone and begins taking pictures of the two of them posing with their faces close. I've seen enough and decide it's time for me to act on it.

"Yeah well, they _both _look occupied. I'll catch you later Jasper," I head over to Jessica and get my beer. I put my arm around her waist and rub her hip gently.

She smiles up at me with pretty blue eyes. I raise my eyebrows and pull her in closer to me. Glancing over at the coach, I see that Bella is staring straight at me. I smile. She smiles back, but the eye contact does not last long and eventually her attention is returned to Jacob.

Angela is jabbering on and on about some guy from another school. I don't know. I'm really not even listening. I just nod my head every once in a while.

I finally have had enough so I lean down and whisper in Jessica's ear, "Come on," and lead her back over to Jasper and Alice, who is officially inebriated. Jasper is staring at her like she's the only person in the room, or on the planet for that matter. He is such a goner.

"So Edward here plays baseball too, Jared." Jared is one of Jasper's best friends from the football team. He scored two touchdowns tonight. I've met him before.

"Cool. What position?"

"Pitcher." I respond coolly.

"Oh no. Not another pitcher on our hands," Jared jokes.

"Who's a pitcher?" A deep voice that I do not recognize comes from behind me. I turn and am surprised to see none other than Brawnie himself standing there. Bella is nowhere to be seen.

"Edward here," Jared pounds my shoulder with his hand. Jacob sizes me up. He's trying hard to not react, but I can see the cocky grin forming on his face even as he fights it off.

"Bella's new neighbor, right?"

I shake my head "yes" because, right now, I really can't find my voice.

"Your dad's the one that called Chief Swan on me, isn't he?"

Everyone, including Jasper, Alice, Jared and Jessica turn and look at me, waiting for a comeback. Before I have chance to even think of one, Bella fills the space, _and the silence_, between Jacob and me.

"Jake, here's your beer."

I hear her voice and I look into her eyes, recognizing the expression on her face very well. She's stoned again. I wonder where she was and who she was with.

Jacob looks down at her and must recognize the tell-tale signs as well, "Where were you?" he asks.

"Just outside with James," Bella responds very calmly.

"Gotta get going guys," Jacob grabs Bella's hand, "I need to talk to my girl," he looks directly at me, "We'll talk baseball another time."

Bella looks cautiously at me as Jake pulls her away. They head back over to the unoccupied couch. Even after they sit down and appear to be in a fairly intense conversation, Bella continues to stare at me. It's hard for me to look at her. They're being extremely quiet and this party is fairly loud so, even though I try, I can't make out a word they're saying.

Jessica fetches us two more beers and I move to the other side of the room to catch up to her. I quietly walk up behind her, placing my arms around her waist from behind and I slide my hand up her arm until I reach my beer.

"Oooooh…" Jess responds. "I wasn't sure you had it in you, Cullen."

I take a large sip of my beer, "Well, _I do_. How about we go find someplace quiet?" I motion with my head. Jess grabs my hand and yanks me along. As we walk past the couch, I see Bella's eyes widen. I smile at her, and this time it's me waggling _my _eyebrows. _Touche Swan_.

Jess leads me through the kitchen to the back porch. Something tells me she's been here before, but I could care less. I'm only using her for practice in case the opportunity for Bella and I to make out ever arises again. Also, it's making Bella jealous and, _for some reason_, I get off on that. I take a few more large gulps of beer and, before I know it, my second cup is empty. A buzz begins to take over my body. We pass Jasper and Alice along the way as well. Alice is giggling uncontrollably at something and Jasper gives me the hairy eyeball. He stops me on my route, "You sure you don't need any protection?" he whispers.

"Nah. It's not going to get that far. I'm good." I can't let it get that far, _right_? Just some touching and kissing. I really don't want to have sex with Jessica. _Do I?_

We no sooner arrive at the vacant back porch when Jess pushes me down onto a lounger and climbs on top of me, straddling my thighs. Shit, this girl doesn't mess around. I, of course, have no idea what I'm doing so I just do what feels right. I run my hands up her sides, from her waist to her rib cage. She leans down and puts her lips to mine, sucking in my bottom lip. Note to self: suck on Bella's bottom lip. I move my hands upward and grab her tits gently, massaging them. She moans into my mouth so evidently, I'm doing something right. Our mouths are warmed-up now and we deepen the kiss. Note to self: ribcage to tits. I rub in this area for awhile but find myself not knowing what to do from here. So, I do what any other curious fifteen-year-old boy would do. I ask her what she wants.

"Do…do you want me to keep touching you?"

"Fuck yes," she growls and grinds herself into me. _Okay then._

"Where?" I ask in between kisses. She pulls away from me and takes my right hand from her hip, placing it back on the top of her waistline of her jeans.

"Under here," she whispers and her lips are on me once more. This time they're on my neck and my collarbone, and that sensitive area behind my ear. It feels so good. Note to self: kiss Bella's neck. _And_ collarbones. _And_ behind her ears.

I hesitate for a second. Jess moans a soft "please" into my ear and I know that I need to act now. Using both hands, I manage to unbutton her jeans and pull down her zipper a little. I skim two fingers over the top of her panties and she sighs into my ear. I'm really not all that attracted to Jessica, but I'm growing harder every second. Her mouth is on mine once again and, as if it's some sign from God, our impromptu make-out session is completely disrupted by the sound of a throat clearing.

I stop. She stops. My stomach lurches and I'm too afraid to look up and see who it is.

"Edward," I hear Jasper's voice, "Look man, I'm sorry to interrupt, but can you help me with Alice? She's had way too much to drink and everyone around here is too drunk to help me."

"Get lost Whitlock," Jess growls without turning around, and puts her mouth back on mine, but I pull away. I sit up, forcing her to go with me. I gently lift her off of me and manage to get away from the death-grip of her thighs. Once she's on her feet, I right her shirt and jeans.

"I'm sorry Jess," I shrug my shoulders, "bro code."

She scowls and as I turn to leave she yells, "Go fuck yourself, Cullen!"

Alice tells us to take her to her sister's apartment. Luckily, her friend Kate hasn't been drinking and has her car there. She agrees to drive us to the apartment complex. Alice's sister is a college student at Bucknell University, which is less than a mile away. Although she's pissed as hell at Alice, her sister agrees to take care of her for us. It's almost midnight now and I need to get home. I'm still a little buzzed, but Dad is probably in his bedroom by now. Jasper and Kate decide to call it a night as well.

As Kate pulls into my driveway, I hear Jasper say, "Well, look what we have here Cullen." I glance up from the backseat to find Bella sitting on our front stoop. She looks up as she hears the car approach, appearing confused at first, probably because she doesn't recognize Kate's car.

"Good luck with that brother," Jasper and I bump fists and I thank Kate for the ride. She wishes me good luck too. If they only knew that I consider myself lucky already just because Bella is here.

I don't hesitate to get out of Kate's car and walk swiftly to Bella. Why is she here? Something must have happened. Maybe she just lost her keys. As I get closer to her, the porch light allows me to see her beautiful tear-stained face. I squat down in front of her.

"Shit Bella, what's wrong?"

She lets out a strangled laugh and rubs her eyes with her palms, "You mean because I've been crying?'

"That, and the fact that you're sitting on my front steps at midnight all alone," I change positions so that I'm sitting beside her, "Did you lose your key?"

She takes a deep breath and forces out the air, "I broke up with Jacob," she says without looking at me. To say that her reply shocks me is an understatement.

"Why? The two of you looked _perfectly happy_ at Yorkie's."

"Did we? Because I wasn't happy with him Edward. It was all an act. I was trying to make someone else jealous." Her words take the air out of my lungs. Is she referring to me?

"Yeah…well…I know what that's like."

"You do?" she questions me. Why does she look so damn confused? Aren't I obvious?

"How did you get home?"

"I walked."

Is she out of her mind? It has to be a few miles from Yorkie's house. I don't press though. She looks upset enough.

"Who brought you home?" She inquires, "You looked a little drunk Edward."

"Alice Brandon's friend, Kate?"

"Oh. I assumed it was one of Jessica's friends."

"No…I uh, I think Jessica is pretty unhappy with me right now," I run my fingers through my hair, "Long story."

She doesn't look up at me. We sit in silence for some time. She finally begins to say something. Her lips go to move but nothing comes out. Then, just when I think she's going ask me to tell her what the long story is, she states, "You know, your house used to belong to Mr. and Mrs. McAndrews. They both died."

I place my right palm on the step behind her and lean back on it, looking across the street at her house. She still won't look at me but continues, "and the Newton's live in the house at the end of the street."

I know both of these bits of information so I'm not sure why she feels the need to tell me. I'm also not sure how to respond. Several more minutes pass in silence before Bella rises to her feet.

"Do you want to go skinny dipping Edward?" She looks down at me on the stoop. Her face has a hint of deviousness to it._ What_?

"Say that again?"

"_Skinny dipping_. Come on, it will be fun," she stomps her little foot, "Your dad's in bed. His lights went out awhile ago."

Well this certainly is an unexpected twist and, for the thousandth time tonight, I don't know how to respond. So I simply stand up and let Bella lead the way, thanking God that I at least had one practice make-out session. Bella takes her shoes off and we slip through the front door in complete silence. Luckily, Dad has left it unlocked. Bella tiptoes and puts her finger to her lip, shushing me. I shake my head at her and cannot contain my smile. I think she may still be a little drunk, or high. It is quite amusing.

We creep through the foyer and into the kitchen. Once we make it to the patio and close the sliding glass door without being discovered, Bella pulls me over to the table and lays the ground rules. Her somber mood from earlier has disappeared completely. There is a spark in her eyes as she whispers to me in the dark.

"Okay. Here's how this is going to work," she puts her little hands on her little hips, "You're going to turn around and I'm going to take my clothes off. You can't turn back around until I'm in the water and I say it's okay. Got it?" I nod my head and smile. I can't contain the elation I'm experiencing right now at her words. I allow her to continue.

"Then, I'm going to turn around in the water," she turns her pointer finger around in a little circle, "and then you're going to take your clothes off and get in. Are we good?"

"Anything you say Bella," I smile around my whispered words.

"What's so funny, _Edward_?" Her hands are on her hips again.

"You are, _Bella_. You amuse me."

"Whatever. Just…turn around already," and she spins her little finger again, "No peaking!"

I can do as she says. I can follow her rules. Turning to face the house, I see that all of the lights from my father's room are, in fact, out. I look up and Emmett's light is out too. The house is entirely still. I'm beginning to get hard at the thought of what is currently happening behind me. I hear some shuffling along with some giggling. The anticipation is killing me. This girl knows what she does to me. She has to know. Finally, I hear quiet movement in the water. She's in.

"Okay. I'm not looking at you. Your turn," she whispers in the dark.

I turn and face the pool. There's a near full moon tonight and it illuminates the water perfectly. Bella is treading water in the middle of the pool. Her dark brown hair is already wet and it clings to her bare back and shoulders. _God_, she's beautiful_. Perfect_. I waste no time shedding my clothes. I hesitate when I get to my boxers, but the uncertainty only lasts a brief moment. I put my clothes next to hers on the bench that sits alongside the glass doors. I'm beginning to have those funny feelings down deep in my stomach again as I ascend the steps that are in the shallow end of the pool. Thank God this pool is heated. I wade out towards Bella, but not far enough out that my feet won't touch the bottom. I need something to keep me grounded.

"Okay. Ready," I whisper.

Bella spins in the water to face me. I can't help but return the enormous smile that she blesses me with.

"I'm not sure, but I think you may be turning into a badass, _Edward_."

"Hmmm…and I wonder who I learned that from, _Bella_."

Her smile grows bigger and then she quickly ducks underneath the water and pops back up, pushing her wet hair back. I follow her lead and do the same. I give my head a little shake, messing my hair up in the process.

"Badass_ and_ sexy," she tells me. Her eyes are alight.

And now I really can't seem to erase the smile from my face. We linger there, in the pool, naked, in the moonlight and smile at each other. Why can I not find the nerve to swim over there and kiss her? Then, out of nowhere, she surprises me again.

"Mike Newton and I used to jump the fence and skinny dip in this pool when I was a freshman and he was a senior," her eyes are alive with excitement as she speaks. This is news. Mike is the Newton's only son. I met him last week. He was leaving for college a few days ago.

"Oh. I didn't know you dated him."

"I didn't. We just, _you know_…" she scrunches her nose. Now I'm confused and curious as to why she is telling me this information at this particular moment.

"I thought you said you lost your virginity to Jake."

"I did. Mike and I didn't have sex. Just, _you know_, other stuff."

"What other stuff?" My smile fades and she senses my irritation.

"_You know_…"

"No Bella. _I don't_. What other _stuff_?"

"Use your imagination Edward." And now I've irritated her.

"Touching?" She nods her head and treads closer to me.

"Kissing?" Nods head. Moves closer.

"Kissing other places besides the mouth?" Nods. Closer.

"You or him?" She stops her ascent.

"Both. Have you ever?" I shake my head.

"Do you want to? Touch and um…kiss, I mean." This time it's me nodding my head. Her husky sex-voice has returned. I haven't heard it since Monday night.

"Come here" she commands.

I swim over to her and we both stare at each other for a short period of time. The water barely covers my chest, but it comes up over Bella's shoulders. She moves a little closer to me and the water slowly leaves her body as she enters the more shallow area of the pool. Just the swell of her breasts are popping out of the water. My hard-on becomes considerably harder. We're right in front of each other, but my mind doesn't allow for my body to react yet. This girl intimidates me. Finally, Bella must realize that she needs to make the first move. She places her hands on either side of my face and closes her eyes. I follow her lead and close mine too. It seems like an infinite amount of time before our lips finally touch gently. Her lips are so soft and wet and open to me. I use the skills I learned earlier in the evening and pull her bottom lip in between mine. She sucks on my top lip and I'm a goner. This is nothing like kissing Jessica. This is so much more.

We set the pace, moving our lips together. Her hands slip around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to her and I finally get the nerve to place my hands on her little hips under the water. I feel her bare skin beneath my fingertips. Her skin is so soft in the warm water. The kissing, the barely-touching, it's almost too much sensation for me. She moans into my mouth and opens herself up to me, allowing me to use my tongue. The feelings I have in my lower stomach are now overwhelming. I slide my hands further around her waist and onto the top her ass. I grow painfully hard in the warm water.

Using another technique I learned from Jessica tonight, I slowly slide my hands up Bella's sides and over her ribcage. Her breathing becomes heavier as I reach the underside of her breasts. Not knowing where my bravery comes from, I go for it, ghosting my fingertips over her hardened nipples. This elicits an audible "mmmmmm" from Bella so I keep tracing my fingers across them over and over. I listen for her moans to determine if I'm doing it right.

Then, it's me moaning as Bella uses her fingertips to touch the area right below my bellybutton, coming dangerously close to my hard-on. The backs of her knuckles skim the skin _there_ as she moves her little hand around in the water. I groan, loudly this time. Bella takes this as a sign and, before I know it, she has me in her hand. My body jerks in response. She slides her hand up and down slowly. This is so much more than I could have ever imagined. Who would have known earlier in the night as I watched her and Jacob on the couch, that I would be getting a hand-job from her in our pool? Emmett would be proud.

I continue the assault on her nipples with my thumbs and she seems to be enjoying it. However, I'd really like to touch her _there _too. After all, she deserves to receive pleasure after what she's been giving me. While I'm enjoying the feel of her naked, in the water and under my fingertips, I think we may be more comfortable doing this lying down. I pull my face away slightly and place my forehead to hers. She stops moving her hand. We're both breathing heavy. Our mouths remain close. I can still taste her on my lips.

"Can we…not in the water? Can we go to my room?"

"Yeah. Good idea," she says through heavy breaths and nods her head.

"Um…how…" I start to ask. Bella responds quickly, her forehead never leaving mine.

"Let's just get out at the same time and get our clothes. I won't look at you if you don't want me to."

As much as I should say the same to her, it wouldn't be the truth. I'm dying to see her naked body. I've touched it, but still haven't seen it. I choose, instead, to remain quiet. We begin treading over to the steps. Bella lets me go ahead of her.

"On the count of three, okay?" I ask. She nods and smiles.

"_One…Two…Three_!" Her smile grows exponentially as I count. We both climb clumsily out of the water, trying not to make too much noise. Well, I'm clumsy anyway. I try to be the respectful young man my mother raised me to be and not look, but I accidently get a side view of Bella's naked form as she reaches for her clothes. She's so perfect. _Too perfect_.

We grab our clothes and begin the painstaking process of getting dressed while soaking wet. I forgo the shirt and Bella forgoes her jeans. I'm in a pair of shorts and Bella is in her tank top and panties as we attempt to creep quietly back into the house. Bella giggles softly as she slides on the kitchen floor. I grab a dishtowel from the sink and wipe up our wet footprints. Bella sneaks into the laundry room and grabs two towels. We're headed toward the steps when the sound of a light clicking on stops us dead in our tracks.

"So, what are you two kids up to?"

_Shit!_

**_A/N: OH NO! It's a cliffy. Thanks again to all of you that have followed this story. Kisses from the redkat. See you next week._**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: *Everything belongs to the queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine.**

_**Chapter Four**_

"_So, what are you two kids up to?"_

I jump. Bella gasps.

Emmett stands in the foyer with a shit-eating grin on his face. I reach behind me and push Bella out of his view.

"Emmett! Shit! You scared us!" I try to contain my anger so as to not wake my dad. I can't believe we've been busted by Emmett Cullen, _Private Eye_.

"Yeah, well your moaning and groaning in the pool scared the shit out of me too, woke me right out of a peaceful sleep. I thought there were cats down here going at it. You're lucky you didn't wake Dad."

"Shhhhhhhhhhh!" I whisper, "Let's not wake him now then! Get back upstairs!"

I want to strangle my little brother right now. He's so sneaky. He better not have seen Bella naked. I'll kill him. The three of us tiptoe up the stairs and into my bedroom. I'll have to remember the fourth step from the bottom squeaks a little. You know, just in case Bella and I ever need to sneak in after another night of skinny dipping and touching. I turn on my table lamp and tell Emmett to go back to bed. Unfortunately, he has other ideas.

"Excuse us Bella, I need a moment alone with my brother. You can dry off in my room. Please, make yourself comfortable there."

"Emmett!" He gives me the "what did I do?" face. He's so smug.

"No. That's fine." Bella giggles, "Edward, could I borrow a t-shirt though?"

I open a drawer, rummage through it and find my favorite Philadelphia Phillies shirt. I'd offer her a pair of shorts too, but let's face the facts; I've already seen her naked body at this point. Besides, she didn't ask for any.

"Here." I hand her my t-shirt. It will be too big on her, of course, but she accepts it willingly. It feels strange to have Bella in my room at night. She's been in here before to bring laundry in or help me straighten up, but this is different. Things have changed between us. I want her in my bed. I want her to stay with me.

As soon as she leaves the room and closes the door, Emmett is on me.

"What was going on in that pool brother of mine? I. Need. Details." he points his finger into my chest with each punctuated word.

I can't help but shake my head and smile as images of what Bella and I were doing a mere five minutes ago replay in my mind. Emmett plops down on my bed and puts his hands behind his head.

"Details or I go wake Dad."

"No, no, no, no, no. You can't wake Dad, Emmett. Please!" I plead with him.

"Then spill it."

I smile again before I can even get the words out. I still can't believe my luck right now.

"We went skinny-dipping."

"_Besides the obvious, numb nuts_.I could see that from my window."

"You look at Bella naked again and I'll kill you, little brother." This time it's me pointing my finger at him.

"Aaaaaaaaaand," he removes one hand from behind his head and circles it around in a motion that indicates he wants me to continue.

"_Aaaaaaaaaand_," I imitate his motion with my hand, "she let me kiss her. Actually, she kissed me and grabbed my dick and she let me touch her boobs. That's all. We decided to come upstairs," I get all of the details out in one breath as quickly as possible.

Emmett smirks and shakes his head back and forth. "Well, well, well Eddie. I really didn't think ya had it in ya." If he only knew, he's the second person to say that to me tonight. "Since you've been a pretty good brother so far in my life, I'm going to go quietly back to my room. Your secret is safe with me, but I want details in the morning." He gets up off of me bed and points his finger at me once again. Do you hear me?"

There is a soft knock on the door and I move to answer it, but Bella opens the door herself. She peeks inside the room and whispers, "Is it okay if I come back in?"

I nod and she enters the room in just my t-shirt, holding her wet clothes and towel in her arms. She looks a little shy and embarrassed. Emmett sizes her up, scoping out her legs from across the room. I slap him in the back of the head and he mouths "_what?_"

Seeing Bella in my t-shirt makes me smile. _My shirt. _ _My girl_. Emmett turns to me and places his right arm on my left shoulder, "May the force be with you."

I scowl at him and he puts his hands up in a surrender-like motion and moves to leave my room. He checks Bella out again, from behind this time and then attempts to shake the vision from his head before leaving the room.

"See you two in the AM," and with one last eyebrow raise, he's gone. I'm alone, with a barely-clothed Bella, in my bedroom, with the door closed. What do I do now? I hesitate. I'm not sure how to continue. She mistakes my indecision for disinterest.

"Um…I can go stay in the guest room, if you don't want me in here?"

"No!" I accidently say too loud. _Shit_. I have to be quiet. I repeat myself, quietly this time, "No. I really would like you to stay…I mean…if you want…_to stay_…or, or you could go…if you'd rather…or stay."

I am such a loser. I internally bang my head against the wall. Quit talking.

"Okay," she smiles and shrugs her little shoulders, "I'll stay."

She walks slowly to my bed and climbs on, sitting down on her knees. She places her hands on top of her thighs and looks up at me through those long lashes of hers. She wants to say something, but hesitates before she begins, biting down on her bottom lip.

"I was really hoping we could finish where we left off…"

"Left off?" I ask, because I am an idiot.

She blushes and looks down at her hands, "Yeah, you know, um…in the pool?" _Oh. _

"Oh." She still wants to. Okay Cullen, you can do this. My dick is already semi-hard from looking at her in my Phillies shirt, "I would very much like to finish that too." I run my fingers through my hair. It's official, I am a complete loser. Bella giggles at me. I climb onto my bed and turn my table lamp off. It's moments before my eyes adjust to the darkness, but I can feel Bella near me. I decide it's time to quit being a pussy here. It's time to make the first move.

"Lie down for me," I say and my voice comes out all husky. Bella gasps quietly. I feel the bed move beneath me as she lies down on her back. Her fingers reach out and find my stomach. She slides them down until she finds the waistline of my shorts. She tugs on them and pulls me down to her.

I don't waste any time. I bury my face in her neck and kiss her there. She wraps one of her legs on top of mine and entwines her fingers into my hair, rubbing my scalp with her fingertips. I use my free hand to move the t-shirt away from her collarbone and begin licking and sucking there, causing Bella to moan a little and tighten her legs around me even more. I feel Bella beneath me. _I mean I can feel her… heat_. She's grinding into my leg as I kiss all over her neck and collarbone. I place kisses behind her ear and she pulls hard on my hair. I assume she likes it, so I do it some more.

Bella releases my hair and reaches down in between us and yanks on my shorts. I give her little kisses on the corner of her mouth, but she grows impatient. She sucks on my bottom lip and I allow her to lead me. We kiss, deeply, and now I am fully hard. As if there is some kind of magnetic pull, my tongue finds its way inside her mouth. It's twisting and tasting hers, and it's absolutely amazing.

Using my thumb, I graze her nipple over the t-shirt and it hardens and causes her to whimper. In the meantime, Bella has managed to unbutton and unzip my shorts. Before I know it, her little hand is inside my boxers and wrapped around me once more. I groan into her mouth, which causes her to squeeze even harder. Yes. I think I could get used to touching and kissing Bella.

She continues stroking me at a fairly quick pace and I fear my premature orgasm. I need to stop her for a little while.

"Bella," I whisper in her ear and stop her hand, "if you keep doing that, this is going to be over really quick."

She giggles into my ear, "Edward, I want you to come." _Oh fuck_. This girl will be the death of me.

"I want to…_come,_" I reply with embarrassment, "but I'm not…finished…with _you._"

She must understand what I'm trying to say. Her fingers thread back into my hair and scrape my scalp. It feels so fucking good. I want to feel her flesh. Over the t-shirt is just not enough for me right now. I would place bets that Bella will not have a problem with me putting my hand up her shirt, but my mother raised me better than that. So, I ask permission. I feel her nod her head against me in a desperate plea.

I slide the t-shirt up so that it's barely covering her breasts and bring my hand up over her ribcage, cupping her in my hand, feeling the weight of her there. Her skin feels so soft and even better than I imagined. I continue to push the t-shirt up until her left breast is literally right in my face. I stare at it for a moment. This girl is beyond perfect.

"Bella, you are so…perfect, just…ungh," I can barely get the words out, "You're so beautiful, so perfect." I mutter over and over.

My words coax her on. She reaches down and begins pulling the t-shirt over her head. I move so she can sit up and finish the task. It's in this moment that I become aware that Bella does not have panties on. Bella Swan is in my bed and she's naked. I need to form some semblance of control so I focus on her tits once more. I kiss each one, cupping the other in my hand. She lies back and this time I center myself between her legs. A night of "touching and kissing" is beginning to go much further. I can't allow that to happen though. I have no protection.

"Edward," her little voice interrupts my inner struggle, "can you…touch me…please? You're driving me crazy." She whimpers.

She wants me to touch her…_there_. I'm so unprepared for this. I didn't get this far with Jessica. I move off to the side of her, lying on my side facing her. Bella remains on her back. She pulls her legs up so that her knees are bent and her feet are flat on the bed. I know that I can't let this opportunity pass me by, so I go for it.

I place my hand on her belly and slowly glide my fingers downward. Bella pants. I take a deep breath before I reach the Promised Land. Her skin is so smooth. I slide two fingers over her and she's so wet. I get cocky for one millisecond. I did this to her. Bella cries out at my touch. Then, my nervousness reappears. Taking a deep breath, I slide my fingers back up over that same area and she lifts her hips to create more friction. I continue rubbing up and down as Bella grinds into my fingers. Finally, she must not be able to take it anymore. She puts two of her fingers over top of mine, showing me how she wants me to touch her. I take very good mental notes. She places her hands in her own hair this time and squeezes her eyes shut as I continue rubbing how, and where she showed me. She's really whimpering now, becoming increasingly wet. So I keep the pace, not taking my eyes of her perfect face. I didn't think it was possible, but I've actually become even harder. My forehead sweats. Bella continues to mewl and moan.

"Edward…ungh…" she reaches back and grabs the pillow, "you make me feel…_oh shit_…oh God…you're going to make me…_come_."

And with that, she lets go and I feel her tighten under my fingers. Her entire body trembles and her eyes flutter. I keep rubbing there until she gently pushes my hand away. Then, she pulls me down to her and buries her head in my chest. We're both sweating and panting. I wrap her in my arms.

She pants heavily into my chest, "Edward that was so good. Did you know you could do that?"

I chuckle, "Um…no? I didn't," I pull away from her slightly so I can look into her pretty brown eyes, "I liked watching you…watching that happen to you."

She smiles shyly and stares into my eyes too, as we both begin to breathe normally again. "Roll over Edward," Bella sits up, "I need to take care of you."

I do as she says because, _fuck, _I've been waiting for this all night. I unbutton and unzip my pants and Bella helps me pull them off. She reaches down into my boxers, wrapping her little hand around me once again and I automatically jerk in her hand. She begins moving her hand up and down, spreading slickness all over me. This girl has me reeling. First the pool, then touching her and watching her come, and now this. I'm wound so tight, I may explode.

"Shit Bella! Here let me take these off too." I lift my hips and she helps me pull my boxers down.

She's back on me instantly, stroking up and down once more. She twists her hand around me as she strokes and it feels amazing. _She's amazing_. In a matter of no time, I feel that familiar pull deep down inside me. I recognize the tell-tale sign of my looming orgasm. It feels the same, but _different_ all at once. It feels _better_. I probably should be kissing her right now or saying romantic shit to her and stuff, but I can't help but watch this. She seems to be enjoying the view as well, as per the smirk on her face.

"You…you might want to move your hand," I tell her but she shakes her head and keeps moving her hand on me. The pressure continues to build, racing forward from my groin and spreading to every part of my body. Specks of little lights flicker behind my eyelidss and I finally let go, coming in four or five spurts in Bella's hand and onto my stomach. I have absolutely no will to open my eyes at this moment. Bella kisses the corner of my mouth.

"I'm going to go get you some tissues." She whispers and gets up, still naked, and goes into my bathroom. I hear the water running in the sink.

What the hell just happened in here? Is this some kind of erotic dream? It can't be real, right? But it is, because Bella returns with a wad of tissues and begins cleaning me up.

"No. Here, I'll do that." I tell her because it's just wrong for me to expect her to clean me after she just gave me the most intense orgasm of my life.

I stand up, grab my boxers and move quickly to the bathroom to finish the clean-up. When I return to my bedroom, Bella is wearing my Phillies shirt again. She's lying on her back with her knees bent and her feet flat. Her hair covers the pillow. When she sees me, she smiles. The light from the bathroom creates the perfect amount of illumination on her hair and skin. I return her expression and crawl into my bed next to her, wearing just my boxers. I lie down on my side. She turns on her side to face me. Her hair falls perfectly over her shoulder. We stare at each other for an infinite amount of time.

I have a difficult time believing this is all real. This is my dream girl, but I am wide awake. I'm floating in the clouds, but I know the floor is beneath me. I feel like I could conquer anything, yet I am frightened of what's to come. Could Bella possibly feel even one tenth of what I feel for her right now? As if she can read my thoughts, she answers my question silently, by placing a light kiss to my lips. Then, with her little hands curled up underneath her chin, she drifts off to sleep.

I stare at her for minutes. The minutes stretch into hours. I have Bella in my bed and the chances of it ever happening again are slim to none. So, I'm not going to sacrifice one second of it. I wish my mother could have met Bella, but if my mother were alive, I would have never met her myself. It makes me wonder if my mother didn't have a hand in this. Maybe she brought me to Bella. Maybe she sees her after all. At some point in the wee hours of the morning, I succumb to sleep.

I awaken to a buzzing that is vibrating near my head. I feel around with my hands to locate the source. It's still dark outside. Finally, I reach under Bella's pillow and grasp her phone. She has set her alarm. Five AM. At some point in the night, Bella has twisted her body around. She's lying on her stomach, but she continues to face me. I gently touch her cheek.

"Bella," I whisper, "Bella…Bella."

She startles and gasps, suddenly sitting up.

"Shhhhh…it's okay. The alarm on your phone," I hand it to her.

She grabs her hair and her eyes begin to readjust. She turns off the alarm and flops back down on her back, letting out a big sigh. Rubbing her eyes, she whispers, "I set it so I could sneak back into the guest room before your dad wakes up."

"I figured."

She sits up once more and throws her legs over the side of the bed to get up. I grab her hand and pull her back down to me. "Wait. Can we talk about something?"

She looks confused at first but then smiles at me, "Sure."

I've been thinking about what I need to say to her all night, or all morning rather. Here goes nothing.

"Bella, are you and Jacob really over?"

"Yes. I told you that last night." She looks confused.

"You're sure this time?"

"Yes Edward," she runs her fingers through her hair and, as she does, the t-shirt rises up over her hips and I am reminded of how she allowed me to touch her last night. _Damn!_ Concentrate Edward. Eyes on her face, "You're acting funny" she says and runs her hand through my hair this time.

"Bella, I don't know how to say this, how to _ask _this, so I'll do it the only way I know how. I pause and swallow hard, "Will you…will you be _my_ girlfriend?"

Her eyes immediately widen, and her face drops. Her little hand is removed from my head. She says nothing, but her reaction tells me everything. I am not granted the response I was looking for. Stupid! I was so stupid! It was obviously not me that she was trying to make jealous. Come to think of it, she was probably using me as well. _Skinny dipping_. Did I actually think for one millisecond that Bella wanted to be naked with me? And the touching, it meant nothing. How could I let myself fall so easily? I think about the promise I made to myself weeks ago to not get close to anyone here. I broke it and now, I am broken.

"_Never mind_. I should have known you wouldn't want me." I've embarrassed myself horrifically.

She puts a finger to my lips, "Please Edward, don't do this right now. Listen to me. I'm going to go to the other room before your dad wakes up. We can't get caught like this, okay?" I don't respond. I just stare at her.

"We will talk about this tomorrow. I guess I have some explaining to do." Once again, I say nothing. She sits up and swings her legs over the side of the bed. This time, I don't stop her as her feet hit the floor. I don't stop her as she stands up. I don't stop her as she tiptoes across the carpet and I don't stop her as she opens my door and walks out on me.

Sleep evades me. I lie on my back and stare up at the ceiling going over the events leading up to Bella leaving my bedroom, her final words to me playing over and over again in my mind. Around eight o'clock, I vaguely hear Bella's voice downstairs along with my father's. I also hear the front door close. I make my way downstairs and find Emmett sitting at the island eating a bowl of cereal. My dad sits at the table, reading the newspaper. I flop down at the table across from my father. I glance over at Emmett and, as I do, he removes the spoon from his lips and mouths the word "details" at me. I choose to ignore him. Dad asks me how the party was. I lamely reply, "Okay."

While I chew vigorously on a bagel, my father informs us that we are taking Pop for lunch at the Lewisburg Hotel. I haven't seen him since we first arrived. Dad leaves to go pick Pop up from the home. After I've finished my bagel, I head back upstairs for another self-pity session. Emmett follows. He presses me. He wants "details."

"Emmett, nothing happened after you left. Bella went back to the guest room." I lie, and not very well.

"Bullshit!"

"Fine! I fucked her."

"Bullshit!"

"_God Emmett_, what do you want from me?"

"Oh I don't know Edward. How about a little notion called…_the truth?_"

"_The truth?_ Okay. Here's _the truth_ Emmett! She let me finger her and I got her off. She gave me a hand job and it felt _fanfuckingtastic! _She fell asleep in my bed. Then, I asked her to be my girlfriend and she pretty much told me to fuck off," I yell at Emmett. I don't like to yell at him. He doesn't respond. It's pretty bad when Emmett can't retort with a snarky comeback.

I rub my palms over my eyes and then leave them there. "Will you please go away now?"

I can't look him in the eye. He leaves without another sound.

I'm having lunch with Dad, Emmett and Pop when my phone alerts me to a text message. It's my friend Garrett from Philly. He wants to know if I can hang out over the weekend at his house. It's the Labor Day weekend so neither of us have school on Monday. It's exactly what I need to take my mind off of Bella. My dad agrees to drive me there this afternoon, but he wants me home tomorrow night. He has to work on Monday and there's no one else to come pick me up.

We've just finished our meals when Dad has to leave the table to take a call from the hospital and Emmett excuses himself to use the bathroom. It's just me and Pop at the table.

"Something bothering you Edward?" Pop inquires as I check my phone for the fiftieth time, hoping to find a text from Bella.

"Not really, Pop."

"From the expression on your face there is. If I were a bettin' man, I'd put money on lady problems," he winks at me."

I chuckle lightly, "When did you get so smart Pop?" He bunches up his napkin and throws it at my head. I duck, but he still gets me in the ear. I laugh some more. So does he.

"Your face gives you away, kid. It's the face of a man that's just has his heart chewed up, spit out, stomped on and handed back to him."

I snort. That pretty much sums it up.

"So I'm right then, it's a girl that has you looking so bothered?"

I play absentmindedly with my straw paper, "Yeah. I'd say that's pretty close."

"Anything you want to discuss with an old man who may, or may not, have some experience with women?"

I chuckle again, "It's just this girl…I…I don't know. I like her and I thought she liked me, but I guess she doesn't." I'm intentionally vague. My pop is smart. I can't have him figuring me out.

"Did I ever tell you the story about how your grandmother and I got together?"

"Yeah," I laugh, "You were drunk."

"Slightly, but that's not the point. I met her at her cousin Leo's house. He was a good friend of mine. God was she beautiful. Knocked my socks off, I tell ya," his eyes drift off as though he's reliving the moment in his head. "I pursued her and she didn't want anything to do with me. So, I backed off a little, but I always let her know in subtle little ways that I was still interested. I never quite let her out of my reach. It took three damn years, but she finally realized I was the right man for her. In the meantime, I had to sit back and watch her date asshole after asshole, but at least she knew. She knew I was waiting."

He pauses for a second and then continues, "Ya know, a wise man once said, 'Waiting for someone you love is never easy. Especially when the one you're waiting for isn't aware that you're waiting...'"

I ponder this for a moment, "What wise man said that?"

"Me," he winks.

As we get back into the Range Rover, I call Garrett to let him know I'll be there in a few hours. I see that I have a missed call from Bella, but she hasn't left a voicemail. She probably wants to "talk". She wants to let me down easy. Well, I'll spare her the pain and embarrassment. I'll just take myself out of the equation altogether.

We arrive back at Pop's assisted living home and he asks me to walk with him to the door. He flirts with a woman at the front desk. Her nametag reads "Cheryl". He tells her that if he were thirty years younger, he'd take her out dancing, and then turns to wink at me. "_Oh Mr. Masen_," she replies. He's a crazy old man. I love him anyway though.

"Can an old man give you a little advice?" He puts his arm around my shoulder. I nod my head. "Just stay in the background for a little while. Eventually, you'll stand out from the rest. You are _my grandson_ after all."

Emmett and Dad drive me to Philly. Emmett sits in the backseat watching season one of "The Walking Dead." Every five minutes or so he yells out "cool" or "gnarly". Where did he come from? It's not possible we have the same genetic make-up.

We pull into Huntingdon Valley, the suburb of Philadelphia I've spent the first fifteen years of my life in. Dad pulls over into the local flower shop. There's no need to ask what he's doing. Emmett and I know all too well. He returns minutes later with a bouquet of pink roses. We also do not need to question when the Range Rover pulls over outside of Saint Michael's Cemetery.

"Do either of you want to come with me?" he asks.

I hear the unmistakable click of Emmett's seatbelt unlatching. I sit frozen and stare at the road ahead.

"Edward?" my father asks. I shake my head and continue to stare straight ahead at nothing in particular. I will look anywhere but beyond those gates. My father and brother head into the cemetery side by side. Emmett stops and glances back in my direction. I shake my head once again.

They emerge from the cemetery moments later. Emmett is still crying and Dad puts his arm around him. Dad's face gives away the fact that he has been crying as well. We came here the day before we moved and Dad had brought Mom her favorite pink roses. He now carries the wilted bouquet from a few weeks ago and throws them in the trash receptacle outside the gate of the cemetery. We continue in silence.

I'm in Garrett's room getting ready to go to a party at our friend Tyler's house. It feels like it was eons ago that I sat in this same bedroom, yet it feels like just yesterday, too. The last time I was here, Mom was alive. She was texting me to get my butt home before my dad got home from the hospital. I rode my bike and got a flat tire. She had to come pick me up. I remember being embarrassed because she had to wear that scarf on her head. Everyone always wanted to know what was wrong with her, but deep down they already knew. I just didn't want to have to say the words out loud.

Garrett presses me for information about the girls in Lewisburg. I pretend there's no one of interest. Bella has tried to call me two more times since I left Lewisburg. She even left me a text.

*What are you doing tonight?*

I don't respond.

The party at Tyler's house is small in comparison to the Lewisburg party I attended at Yorkie's last night. There are just a few friends from school, including some girls. Lauren is here. She's a pretty brunette with light eyes, but for some reason, there's a set of brown eyes that keep finding their way into my thoughts, keeping me from noticing anyone else. I think about the comment that Emmett made to me just earlier this week about not knowing what to do with Lauren when I was making out with her. Well now I could sure show her a thing or two. "I'm experienced," I think to myself with pride.

We play a couple of rounds of pool and discuss our first week of school, respectively. It feels really good to be around my real friends. This is where I belong. Lauren tries to flirt with me a little bit, but I'm not having it. I've had my share of women this weekend and it's only Saturday. Around nine o'clock I feel my phone buzzing in my back pocket. I have two new texts. The first one is from Emmett.

*Bella was here looking for you. She looked upset.*

The second is from none other than the girl behind the deep brown eyes herself.

*Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?*

This time, I respond.

*Because I'm not your boyfriend.*

**A/N: Poor Edward, broken-hearted and that Bella, she's a horny little thing, isn't she? Who can blame her though, when she's naked with Edward Cullen? Chapter 5 will be up next week. See you then . Kisses from the redkat.**

**I'm pimping out the Dirty Talkin' Edward Contest. I have written an entry, but I can't tell you which one is mine yet. Be sure to check out all of the entries. They are all equally awesome. u/4742504/Dirty-Talkin-Edward-contest**

**Follow me on Twitter for updates: RedKat1976**

**I have some outfits and other goodies for this story on Polyvore: redkat19761**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: *Everything belongs to the queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine.**

_**Let's get these two back on track, shall we…**_

_**Chapter Five**_

On Sunday morning, Charlotte, Garrett's mother volunteered to drive me back to Lewisburg so that I could stay another night with my real friends. As much as I wanted to stay and pretend not to care, part of me missed seeing those big brown eyes. Though I have much too pride to admit it out loud, I hadn't given up on Bella. I'm just stubborn by nature and my bruised ego was not going to let me fall again. It was a relief though, to not have to face her after I'd embarrassed myself in front of her. I can't even imagine what she must think of me right now. I'm thankful to not have to spend the day with her. Emmett did, however, and I was receiving a play by play of their time together just about every hour.

*Bella just asked if you said anything to me*

*Tell her NO*

*One step ahead of you Eddie*

*Bella wants to know when you're coming home?*

*Tell her I AM home*

*She looks really hot today. I can see right down her shirt. Did you actually have those tits in your hands?*

*You're an ASSHOLE!*

*Enough with the shouty caps already*

I slept on Garrett's couch Sunday night. It's horribly uncomfortable. I had a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep for that matter. I did a lot of thinking about my new favorite self-deprecating topic, Bella. I feel so stupid. Bella could have any guy at LHS. Why would I even think, for one second, that it would be me? It reminds me of her and Jacob. My stomach lurches when I think about the two of them together. I get frustrated and feel like I should hit something when I picture the two of them being intimate with one another.

I wish my mom were here. She would have known what to say to make me feel better. Thoughts swim through my head. They float from my mom's last words to me and a promise to continue playing baseball to Bella's hands on me and seeing her naked form to sweet words whispered on hiking trails to goodbyes. No matter how many times these thoughts circle around in my mind, it all comes back to the same thing. They both left me when I needed them.

I don't know whether to be angry or sad, bitter or vengeful. I rub my face with my palms in frustration. I make a promise, to myself this time, to dedicate my time to baseball. I need to have a focal point to get through the next three years. My dream is to get a scholarship and at least play baseball through college. I'm good enough. I know I am. I would be a fool to let a girl get in the way. Why did I have to be the sensitive child? This is the only time I wish I was more like Emmett.

Charlotte drives me back to Lewisburg and Garrett comes along for the ride. The drive back is dreadful and goes entirely too quick. It rains most of the way there and the temperature has dropped. I'm anxious about returning to my new home. I think Garrett can sense it. He and I decide we should try to hang out at least once a month. His dad has an extra ticket for the Phillies-Braves game in October, and Charlotte is going to let him skip a day of school to come up and see me at the end of September. There's a large fair in this area that's a pretty big deal. My grandparents took me there a few times when I was small. I'm not sure I am excited about tractor pulls and farm animals, but if it takes my mind off of Bella, I'm willing to try. She had told me how excited she was to take me there, and make me eat fried Oreos. She made me many promises that she couldn't keep.

As we pull into the driveway, I realize that this is the exact moment I've been dreading all weekend along. I have to face Bella. Charlotte and Garrett come in to see our new house and use the bathroom before they turn around and head back to Philly. We find Bella and Emmett in the kitchen doing homework. When we enter, Bella looks up from her book and smiles widely at me, saying my name out loud. Why does she have to be so beautiful? Why does my name have to sound so wonderful coming from her lips.

Charlotte goes over to Emmett and gives him a hug. He and Garrett bump fists. Bella looks slightly uncomfortable, but I know the true Bella. She can charm the pants off of anyone and it's only a matter of time before she has these two eating out of the palm of her hand.

"Hi" she says in her perfect little voice and stands up. She extends her hand to Charlotte and then to Garrett and introduces herself as our neighbor.

She smiles at me, "Dr. Cullen called an hour ago. He's working late because of the holiday. There's Chinese for you in the fridge." she stands and walks over to fridge, allowing all of us to see her perfect ass in a very little scrap of material she calls shorts, "I'll heat it up for you."

Charlotte smiles. Garrett needs to pick his jaw up off of the floor. Welcome to the club Garrett, _welcome to the club_.

Charlotte chimes in, "Well, what a nice neighbor you are Bella." Bella and I make eye contact and I plead to her with my eyes. I really don't feel like explaining things this time. Emmett fills in the blanks instead, "I'm sorry Edward is being rude," I glare at him, "Bella is also my baby-sitter. She takes care of me since my brother isn't mature enough yet. I glare some more. I'll make him pay later.

Moments later, Garrett still isn't able to pick his jaw up off of the floor. Yes, Bella has this affect on those of the male species and, _Emmett was right_, she does look hot today. She has her hair all curled and make-up on. I wonder what all the fuss is about. Maybe she saw the guy she's actually interested in and was trying to make jealous. And yes, I can see right down her shirt. Apparently, so can Garrett. I take him upstairs to use my bathroom. As soon as we get to my room, he shoves me in the chest, "Um, care to tell me why you've been keeping _that_ from us, Cullen?"

"What?" I feign ignorance.

"Uh…that hot piece of ass in your kitchen fetching your dinner."

"Who Bella?" Garrett looks at me like I have three heads. Of course he means Bella, "Yeah she's hot, but uh…I think she has a boyfriend." I lie because I don't want Garrett to know anything about Bella just yet. I also don't want him to think she is available.

"Hmph…well that's too bad," he mutters, "I guess the good ones are always taken."

"I guess," I respond coolly.

After Garrett and Charlotte leave, I take my dinner up to my room without a word to Bella. I think she knows I'm upset. I can hear her and Emmett watching TV in the family room. When I get to my room, I notice a small brown paper bag sitting in the middle of my bed that I hadn't seen earlier. Not to mention, my bed has been made. I know I didn't make it before I left. I also know that it would be a cold day in hell before either my father or Emmett would make it for me. On the bag is a note written in blue Sharpie marker. It says, "For my Home Plate Stealer, from your Shortstop, Bella."

Inside is a small clear plastic sleeve with a card inside. It's a signed Chase Utley Topps baseball card. How did she know he's my favorite pitcher? As much as I want to thank her, my pride does not allow it. _A baseball card?_ That's how she sees me, like a kid.

That night I dream that Bella is standing on a dock overlooking the ocean. She's giggling and getting dangerously close to the edge. I am frightened for her.

"Stop!" I yell to her, but she just turns and smiles.

"It's okay Edward," she says, "we should do this together."

I take her hand and she pulls me off the dock with her. I feel like I'm falling and falling. Just when I think I'm going to hit the water, I startle myself awake and sit straight up in bed. Breathing heavily, I try to make sense of the very real dream I just had. I throw myself back down onto the pillow and pray that sleep with take over me soon. _And it does._

The following two weeks seem to drag on and on. Bella and I barely speak save for the necessary conversations regarding dinner, laundry and car rides. I've been staying after school with a couple of guys from the baseball team, Jared and Embry. We've been doing a little weight lifting and training, running some drills. We're the only three team members who don't play football, too. It feels good to be in a routine again. I thrive on the structure and the discipline. Baseball has always been an outlet for me and it's no different here. Not to mention, it takes my mind off of Bella and helps me to stay focused. Jared usually gives me a ride home when we're finished. I've even walked a few times.

Bella also seems to have moved on with her life. She no longer visits me at lunch. Instead she sits with a group of guys I don't know and two girls who are part of the "popular clique". Bella seems nothing like them, but I watch her each day as she laughs and talks with them. The guys trip over each other trying to get her attention. The girls get as close as they can to her, trying to get the boys attention away from her. Bella fits the specifications of "Every guy wants to be with her. Every girl wants to be her." It's sort of disgusting to watch, but if I said was immune to her feminine wiles, I'd be lying. Though my days are filled with everything but Bella, she's still the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about before I drift off to sleep at night.

Each night, by the time I get home, Emmett and Bella have finished dinner and are doing their homework in tandem at the kitchen table. My nightly routine is boring, but tolerable. I get a shower, reheat my dinner, take it upstairs and eat it while I do my homework with the door closed. I'll give Bella credit, she can take a hint. She hasn't once bothered me yet. The paper bag with the baseball card inside sits on top of my dresser. I haven't taken out since the night I received it.

Even Emmett ignores me. It's very evident, from time to time, that Bella looks stoned. I've even seen her a few times with Riley at school. She better not be doing that shit in our house and she better not do it around Emmett. I regret ever letting her talk me into smoking with her that night. I was such a pawn.

I have also noticed that Bella has been doing a lot of writing. She had told me once that she writes short stories when she feels inspired. I wonder who or what she writes about? She carries that notebook around like it's the Holy Grail.

One thing Bella has definitely given up, though, is Jacob. It's possible she's spoken to him even less than she's talked to me. Jasper says he's dating Leah, or the" Lap Girl", as I call her. She pales in comparison to Bella. You're loss_, Brawnie_. As for Jasper, he and Alice have made it official and "defined the relationship" as he called it. I never understood how people say they're "dating" when they can't even drive. Nonetheless, I'm happy for him.

My day-to-day life is mundane and monotonous, so I'm taken by surprise when I arrive home tonight and find an unfamiliar car in our driveway. I open the front door and head into the kitchen, expecting to see the dynamic duo of Emmett and Bella. I am even more surprised when I find woman in our kitchen cooking dinner on the stove. I don't know who the hell she is, but whatever she's cooking smells delicious. I stand there and stare at her from behind until she must sense my presence and she turns around, jumping when she sees me. She's a pretty woman and looks to be in her mid-thirties. She has a kind face, which lights up when her eyes land on me.

"You must be Edward," she puts down the spoon she's been stirring with and wipes her hands on a dishtowel. She extends her hand to me, "I'm Esme. I'm a nurse at Evan." She must notice my confusion and she continues, "I work with your father. He asked me to take care of you boys tonight." I'm still confused so she clarifies a little more, It's Isabella's birthday. He gave her the night off so she could go out."

"It's Bella's birthday?" is all I can choke out, "I mean…_sorry_," I shake my head, "it's nice to meet you _Esme_. Where's Emmett?"

"Oh," she looks a little disappointed that I wasn't happier to meet her, I guess, "he's upstairs if you want to go get him. Dinner is just about ready."

I head upstairs and I internally beat myself up. How did I not know it was Bella's birthday today? Guilt immediately washes over me. I should have wished her a Happy Birthday this morning in the car. She went out? Who took her out for her birthday? She has virtually no girl friends. Was it one of those guys from her cafeteria table? Now, anger washes over me, mixed in with a little bit of jealousy. I don't even realize that I'm stomping up the steps or that I'm mumbling to myself as I throw my backpack into my bedroom.

"Chill out Eddie, she's with Charlie." Emmett shouts at me from his room. I race in and find him sitting on his floor looking at girls in bikinis on his laptop.

"Have you no shame Emmett?" I stare at the screen.

"I'm just shopping for a gift." He retorts.

"_For who?_ None of those thirteen-year-olds you're into could fill those out," I point to a particularly buxom blonde in a white bikini.

"Well then it's a good thing I'm not shopping for them." He responds without looking at me. I glare at him until he finally turns around, "I'm shopping for Bella's birthday present," he waggles his eyebrows at me.

I slam the screen closed on his laptop and push it across the floor.

"Whoa ho ho, Eddie, I'm just busting your nuts. I knew I could get a reaction out of you." He tries to play innocent. "You've been playing the indifferent role for too long now. I knew you weren't over Bella that quickly. For some reason, you actually _like_ girls for more than their bodies. Me on the other hand…"

"Emmett, find a point and make it."

"I was about to say…If you don't let yourself get too emotionally involved, it's easier to walk away. Just sayin'"

"You're twelve, Emmett. What do you know about emotions?"

"Almost thirteen," he corrects me and I roll my eyes at him, "and besides I'm just trying to help you see that you're not over the whole Bella thing and, _trust me_, she's not over you." _What?_

"She's not? Did she say something?" I look down at him.

"The entire thing is a little disgusting if you ask me. _Blech!"_ he forcibly shakes his body. "Sorry. I just had another mental image of the two of you humping in the pool again."

"What…did…she say…_Emmett_?" I start to really get angry.

"She told me she's afraid she's falling in love with you."

"Say that again," I blink in shock.

"You heard me the first time."

"Emmett," I squat down in front of him, "I've been very forthcoming with you about my personal life with Bella. You owe me." I say very quietly. "Now spill it."

Emmett proceeds to tell me that, though Bella hasn't said very much, what she has said is significant. She's afraid we were moving too fast. She wanted to be single for a little while, but she's falling for me. She _misses_ me. I make Emmett repeat himself several times before it sinks in.

"Bottom line Edward," he says, "She wants your dick."

I'm not even bothered by his vulgarity. I can translate Emmett-speak. Bella wants me. I grab my brother by both shoulders and kiss him on the head. He cringes and makes some comment about me being gay, but I don't even care. I run to my bedroom and grab my wallet, then race downstairs into the kitchen. Esme is putting dinner on the table. It's some kind of roasted chicken and potatoes and it smells heavenly.

"Um…Esme, can you… uh… drive me to the flower shop downtown?" I startle her for the second time tonight.

"Well, of course but," she looks at her watch, "they're probably closed. Do you need something urgently?"

"Uh…flowers?" I respond because, I mean, isn't it obvious?

"Are these for a girlfriend?"

I run my fingers through my unruly and sweaty hair. "Sort of," I lie.

"Oh…well then. I'm a hopeless romantic. Let's get you to the grocery store. I'm sure they have some there," She glances down at the table briefly, "Dinner can wait."

One hour and thirteen minutes later, it's me sitting on Bella's front porch steps this time, with a half dozen pink roses. It was all they had. The cashier offered to mix in white ones, but I declined. They have to be pink. After a shower, eating dinner, brushing my teeth, getting dressed in my nicest shirt and tie, and brushing my teeth again, I'm finally ready as Chief Swan pulls into his driveway. Bella eyes me curiously from the passenger seat.

As they exit the car, I stand up, roses in hand. Chief Swan examines me closely and tries to stifle a grin, "I'll uh…let you two have some time here," he unlocks the front door and disappears from sight, but something tells me he's watching my every move. He's always a man of few words.

Bella stands before me. She hasn't taken her eyes off of me since they pulled in. I hand her the roses.

"Happy Birthday."

She looks beautiful tonight. _Perfect. _I've never seen her look more perfect, well except for when she was naked I suppose. She's wearing a pretty purple dress and high heels. I don't think I've ever seen her in anything besides sandals and converse. They make her a little taller and she's just at the perfect height for me to kiss her and not have to lean over too far. I contemplate doing this, but then decide against it. Her hair is all curled like it was the other night at the house, and she's wearing this eye make-up that makes her brown eyes look real sexy. I look into them and I realize how deep and brown they really are. _Perfect_.

"I don't know what to say, Edward. This is a surprise. Thank you." She leans in and smells the roses, "These are beautiful. I'll just go and put them in some water." She takes a step onto the porch.

"Wait," I grab her hand, "I need to say I'm sorry, too. I've been rude." I look down at my shoes and run my hand through my hair.

"No Edward. I shouldn't have left that morning without explaining myself. Let's sit, okay?" she motions towards the porch swing.

I let her sit down first. I take the roses from her arms and set them down on the windowsill. She pats the spot next to her and I obey. I'm getting exponentially nervous by the second. She keeps her little hands in her lap and all I can do is gaze at them and think about how they felt when they were touching me_. Focus Edward_.

"Edward," she begins nervously, "do you have any idea how much your father is paying me?'

Well, that's not what I was expecting. I shake my head, confused.

"I don't think I've told you about where I want to go to college. I really, really want to attend Penn. It's at the top of my list."

I am very familiar with the University of Pennsylvania. My dad went to medical school there. We used to attend various events on campus growing up. Bella goes on to tell me that they have the best journalism program in Pennsylvania and she is applying for early acceptance. My father was so pleased to hear that Bella wanted to attend his alma mater that he offered her an obscene amount of money to help out at the house. Holy shit! How much is paying her? Never mind. I don't think I want to know. With the money she makes this year she'll be able to pay for her entire first year of college. She plans on working on campus to pay for the rest. Her dad is going to help out with what he can.

Bella continues, "If you start telling people that I'm your girlfriend and your dad finds out, I'm afraid he won't want me working there anymore. I have a lot of respect for your father, Edward and I am forever indebted to him. I have a future because of him."

I hadn't thought of any of this before. Bella's right. _Shit_. I was being so damn selfish.

"And I was thinking of _you _too, Edward. If Jake finds out about us, he'll make baseball a nightmare for you. I don't want to see this sport, that you love so much, ruined."

I break my silence and take her little hands in mine, "Bella, no. Don't you ever worry about me. I can handle myself. I have nothing to lose. Do you understand me?"

She nods her head and then surprises me by planting a small kiss on the corner of my mouth. I smile. She smiles.

"Edward, I really _like_ what we have…here," she looks down at out entwined fingers, "I like what's been happening between us. Can we not worry about boyfriend, girlfriend, labels or anything else? Can we just be Bella and Edward? "

"I like that idea," I reply sincerely and move to place a kiss on her lips, but she puts her two little hands on her chest and stops me, "Edward, I think another mistake we've made is moving too fast. I don't know what I was thinking. Well, I know what I was thinking. I was thinking how hot you are and that I can't control myself around you," she giggles. I smile. "Can we slow down? Just a little? I don't want to push you too fast."

"Yeah…I mean…that's cool…I don't…"

My response is interrupted, "He doesn't know what he's doing anyway," a voice comes from the shrubs. Bella and I stand up and peek over the porch. Emmett sits there staring up at us, eating a chicken leg. Bella covers her face and giggles.

"Emmett! Get out of here!" I point across the street to our house.

"Ah come on. You two drag me into this when you need my help. Then, you're not gonna to let me listen to the good parts?"

"Do you want me to tell Dad about the emails I found on your computer to some girl named Rosalie?"

He freezes. I've actually shocked him. Two can play your little games, Emmett. That's right, I'm just as sneaky.

"No Edward, please…" he begins to beg. I simply point to the house once again and he takes off running.

Bella covers her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh, "Don't hold out on me Cullen, I need to know the content of those emails."

"That's the best part. I didn't even read them. Must've been something pretty good though, huh?"

"I guess so." She answers and pulls me to her by my belt loops.

"So, seventeen, huh old lady?" I look down at her.

"Are you saying I'm too old for you, _Edward_?"

"Not even close. You're perfect for me, _Bella_." I place my lips to her forehead and Bella wraps her arms around my waist.

_So perfect._

**_A/N: Thanks again to everyone who is continuing with this story. I'm enjoying writing it. Don't forget to go check out the Dirty Talkin' Edward contest. More and more entries are coming in. One of them might be mine. As always, kisses from the RedKat._**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to our queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine.**

_**This chapter is an almost-lemon with a little bit of smut, and maybe a little more smut. **_

_**Chapter Six**_

It's been over two weeks since Bella and I had "the talk". The weeks are going so fast. I suppose it's due to my busy schedule. I've been training every day after school, mainly hitting the weights. I'm feeling pretty good about my try-out for the baseball team. School also has me preoccupied. My classes are getting increasingly harder, especially AP English. I was never one for literature. Luckily, it's Alice's forte and she helps Jasper and me on Tuesdays after I'm finished lifting weights and he's finished with football. I'm sure the two of them would rather I not be there, but they put up with me anyway. If I planned on staying in Lewisburg permanently, I might even consider them to be friends.

My physical relationship with Bella is pretty much status quo. We haven't been intimate since the night of the skinny dipping. I'm respecting Bella's wishes to take things slow. She's in control of this relationship. Yes, I am pussy-whipped and I'll be the first to admit it. We do, however, have two new rituals that have kept our relationship moving along. The first one is talking on the phone before we go to bed. Bella goes home at ten o'clock when my dad gets home from the hospital. We both go to our respective bedrooms and Bella usually calls me. We talk until about 10:30 and then say goodnight, except for the nights that the Phillies' games are on television. Then, Bella sits and watches the game with me.

The Phillies are not having a good season this year, Jimmy Rollins, my plate-stealing idol, can't seem to pull it together, but I don't even care as long as Bella is watching the games with me. When she leaves, she knows I won't be up to my room until much later when the game is over. It's those nights that she texts me. It's usually a "Goodnight" with a kissing emoticon. All in all, I'm learning more and more about her and the newfound knowledge is causing me to fall even harder.

Bella has been a little more open about all of her hang-ups with her mother. I've never met Renee Swan, but I already dislike her. She even forgot Bella's birthday this year and called her three days late. Bella didn't take the call, but Charlie spoke to her. I've told Bella more about my mom too. I like to tell her funny stories about my mom before she got sick because I love to hear her giggle over the phone. I told her about the time my mom accidently used the men's room at Wal-Mart. She didn't realize that she was in the wrong restroom until she came out of the stall and saw two men at the urinals. She screamed. The men screamed and Emmett and I were extremely embarrassed. Bella thought that story was particularly funny.

We also talk about what we want to do to each other, _physically_, when the time is right. Though this doesn't occur every night, it is my favorite part of our conversations. Of course, I have to take care of myself immediately afterwards. I never thought I could be this open with a girl, but for some reason, I have no issues telling Bella exactly how she makes me feel. I tell her how her lips and tongue taste, how good she felt under my fingers and that I love the smell of her. She tells me how good I make her feel how much she wants me inside her. I tell her how badly I want the same.

"I wish I could make myself, _you know_, do what you did to me that night," she tells me. It's past ten-thirty, but our conversation is much too intense to stop now.

"Do you…_try_?" I ask. Oh fucking God, if she's says yes I'm going to make a mess right here in my sheets.

"Yes," she whimpers, "but it's not the same. I haven't been able to, _you know_, come."

"Fuck Bella, do you have any idea how hard I am getting listening to you say this right now?"

She giggles, "Well, um do you need to take care of that?"

"Yeah, but I really don't want to end this conversation."

She giggles again, "Did it feel the same for you when I did it…_you know_…to you?" My girl is very curious and it's so hot.

"Not even close," I tell her, "You made me feel so much better than I could ever do myself."

"So you liked it?"

"You have no idea, Bella."

Bella and I discovered one night, during one of our late night conversations, that we can see each other from our bedroom windows. Thus, the idea for our second ritual happened. Bella told me that she thinks about me every night before she goes to bed. Apparently, knowing I'm in her life somehow makes her feel safe and puts her to sleep peacefully. I didn't want to tell her the things I think about her before I go to bed, but let's just say, they help me to fall asleep too. Anyway, her confession that night inspired me to look out my window and into hers. When I got there, I was surprised to see a very scantily clad Bella gazing back at me. When she saw me, she smiled and blew me a kiss. I pretended to catch it and place it on my heart. So, every night, after we end our phone call, we look out our windows, Bella throws me a kiss and I catch it. Where I place the pretend kiss varies from my face to my neck to my chest. One time I even put it down my pants which brought a big smile to her face. She sent me a text a few minutes later.

*My dirty boy.*

Seriously though, I can't believe the things that Bella wears to bed. She must need a lot of blankets. Not that I'm complaining. Most of her nightwear has been included in my nightly fantasies of her.

Lately, the Chief has been home much more often. This is a good thing, I think. I have to hand it to him; he sure minds his own business. I can't believe he hasn't said anything to my dad about Bella's birthday and the roses. He must like me. Bella says he's just glad that I keep her away from Jacob. I don't care what the reason is, as long as she and I can see each other.

I had a long talk with Bella about the whole smoking weed thing. She has agreed to stop for me. I think I may have pissed Riley off, but I really don't care. Bella has been hanging out with some nicer kids from school as a result. She told me she owes me for straightening her ass out. I just might take her up on that offer.

The last week in September brings terrible rainstorms. There is local flooding and we even get a day off of school. Emmett goes to a friend's house and Dad is at work. Bella and I have the house to ourselves. We really need to do laundry, but I have a feeling it won't get done. Before she comes over, I get a text message from her.

*I'm getting in the shower. I have a surprise for you*

My instinct tells me these two statements have nothing to do with each other. My dick hopes otherwise. Does she have any idea what she does to me? I believe she does. I have to ask because the suspense is killing me.

*Does my surprise have anything to do with your shower?*

_Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes._

*No, but it does have something to do with Victoria's Secret*

_Fuck me._ That's even better.

Bella walks in our front door forty-five minutes later without knocking and comes into the kitchen where I'm eating a bowl of cereal. As soon as I see her face, I'm a goner. She's wearing huge grin and I wonder what my girl is thinking. I return her smile with a "hey". It's all I can muster out as she stalks over to me. She has her arms crossed over her tits, which causes them to be pushed together and up. God, what this girl does to me. The closer Bella gets to me, the more and more wound up I become. When she reaches the table, she puts her little hands on her little hips. Have I mentioned I love when she does that?

"So, what do you think?" She poses for me, sticking her tits out.

A big smile spreads across my face. In addition to her awesomely tight jeans, she's wearing a white baseball t-shirt with blue sleeves. In red letters, it says "I ONLY KISS PHILLIES FANS".

"I fucking love it. Is this my surprise?"

She nods her head and grins at me. She's glowing. I can't resist the urge to touch her.

"That reminds me…I never did get to thank you properly for the Chase Utley card. Come here." I tell her. She walks over to me slowly, cautiously. When she gets close enough, I grab her hand and pull her into my lap. She scoots around so that she's facing me. Her thigh rubs on my dick and now I'm semi-hard. _Concentrate Edward._ I wrap my arms around her and, as I do, one thousand butterflies dance around in my stomach. My heart is pounding so hard I think it might beat right out of my chest. The feeling of having her close to me like this is euphoric. I look into her eyes. She's breathing deeply and I can feel her heart pounding as well.

"Thank you for the shirt, too. I _really _like it," I make her smile again, "but I like what's underneath it even more." My heart continues to race with my words. Her face is so close to mine, I can't resist. I have to kiss her. I don't even care if she can smell Lucky Charms on my breath. My lips touch hers lightly and something inside me ignites. I can no longer maintain control. I grab the back of her head and pull her closer to me, sucking on her bottom lip, hard. She catches up to me and returns the favor. Her little hands move slowly up my chest, over my shoulders and behind my neck. Just like there's a magnet in there, once again, my tongue slides into her mouth. She moans into mine. She's managed to turn her body in my lap and is now straddling me on the kitchen chair. Needless to say, I am completely hard. She grinds herself on me once, twice, three times and now it's _me_ moaning into _her_ mouth.

I think about the lecture she gave me weeks ago about the problems with rushing our relationship too fast. I don't want to pressure her, so I make a decision that I may regret for the rest of my life. I pull away slightly and place my forehead to hers. Through heavy breaths I whisper, "We have to stop."

"Why?"She doesn't hide her disappointment.

"Because Bella, right now I want to be inside of you so bad, but I don't want to lose my virginity on a kitchen chair. Okay?"

"Do you want to go upstairs?" She asks in desperation.

"Bella_, slow_. Remember?"

"Yeah, I hate slow." She answers honestly. I chuckle at her.

"I hate slow, too."

We lie on the sectional in the family room under blankets and watch lame movies on Syfy for the rest of the morning. It's been pouring down rain for the past few hours. I am lying on my back and Bella is between my legs with her back to my chest. My arms are wrapped around her and she uses her fingers to lightly rub my hands. We're both in our bare feet. Even Bella's toes are perfect.

I could get used to this. This is the most we've touched in several weeks. My fingers have craved her soft skin. I bury my face in her hair and breathe in her scent. I curse myself for wearing another pair of Underarmour shorts. She can probably feel my partial erection through the fabric, but shorts and a t-shirt is my lazy day wardrobe. For the most part, I'm able to keep my hard-on at bay, but when she takes my hands in hers and moves my palms up to her breasts, self-control takes a dive right out the window. I take a deep breath. She wiggles her body around slightly and places her lips to my neck. The butterflies reappear and I feel them way down deep as she reaches behind her and places her hand behind my neck, tickling me there.

I massage her breasts in my hands, causing her to rub her backside into me. _Fuck._ I'm hard again. We maintain this position for a short time before Bella decides to rock my universe once again.

"I have another surprise for you, Edward." She moves to stand up and I try to hold her to me. She giggles and asks me to please let her up. So, I comply. She stands in front of me, blushing, and moves her fingers to the button on her jeans. I immediately sit up. Her face flushes red, but she continues to unbutton and then unzip her jeans. Maybe I'm just anxious, but I think she may be able to beat the world record for "Slowly Unfastening Pants". I eye her curiously. She blushes once again and looks down. Then, _fuck me_, doesn't she turn around and glance at me over her shoulder. My eyes fluctuate between her eyes and her perfect ass and I wonder what my girl has in store for me, a strip tease perhaps?

She turns her face away from me and begins to lower her jeans over the curve of her hips at a painfully slow pace. I see the lace top of her panties begin to emerge and then the rest follow. They barely cover her ass. I have a hard time concentrating but I finally am able to see her panties in their entirety. _Fuck._ They are red and in white letters say, "Take Me Home". They have the Phillies insignia on her left butt cheek. Is she kidding me right now? My brain-to-mouth function fails me and I blurt out, "_Holyfuckingshit." _ I place my head in my hands and rub my fingers through my hair multiple times, then look up again. She's staring at me over her shoulder again and my girl looks sad.

"Bella, _fuck._ Are you trying to make me jizz in my pants?"

Her grin returns, "So, you like them?" she asks.

"I don't _like _them. I _love them._" Is there are stronger word than love? I'm not sure. I can't seem to form a coherent sentence. Holding onto her jeans, she turns back around to reveal the front of the "Best Fucking Cotton Undergarment Invention/I Want to Call and Thank Victoria Personally" panties. I didn't think they could get any better, but they do. I'm also not sure my dick can get any harder, but it does. Front and center at the exact spot I would like to touch her right now is the Phillies "P" insignia in blue.

"You're trying to kill me, right?"

She blushes and giggles nervously, "I…I didn't know if I should get them or not. I didn't know of you would think they were stupid or something. I was nervous about showing you."

"Bella, I think you should buy every Phillies item Victoria's Secret has to offer,"

… _and give me a private fashion show every night_, _which reminds me_, "Please don't tell me you have a Phillies bra on, too. I can't handle it." She shakes her head "no" in response.

"I bought them with some of my birthday money," she says. Happy Birthday to me, I think to myself, and Merry Christmas and Happy fucking New Year.

"Thank you… for buying something that I would like."

She takes a deep breath and proceeds to slide her jeans completely down over her hips and the rest of the way off, stepping out of them. I watch in amazement. Words evade me once again.

"Edward," she nervously pulls her bottom lip under her teeth, "I don't want to take it slow anymore. Not today anyway."

Her words make me gasp uncontrollably. Do those panties have some kind of magic dust in them that makes girls horny? If they do, where might I be able to purchase this dust?

"Okay," I respond because I am such a hopeless romantic who knows all the right things to say to turn a girl on. Bella doesn't let that stop her. Evidently, she's on a mission.

She moves the blanket out of the way and crawls onto my lap. She straddles my thighs and places both of her hands on either side my head, holding onto the couch. Instinctively, I slide my hands up her thighs, up over her hips and around to her perfect, round ass. Bella lets out a quiet hum. As she does, her eyes scrunch closed. I'd like to close mine too, but I can't seem to take them off of her.

"Edward, everything you do to me always feels… _so good_. Why do you think that is?"

_Shit! _ She wants me to think too?

"I have no clue Bella. I just do what feels good." I have many theories about the ways _Bella _makes _me _feel_, _but I'm not ready to share those with her yet. Instead, I let my hands travel up under her shirt. My thumbs graze lightly over her bra and she whimpers. I bring them back down and tug at her fuckawesome Phillies t-shirt. She helps me guide it up over her head and drops it onto the floor. I am now eye level with her perfect tits. They're bulging ever-so-slightly out of the top of her bra. I can't wait any longer. I reach around her back to unclasp it.

She shakes her head and says, "It's in the front."

_Oh._ As if I wasn't confused enough. They had to go and move the clasp on me. Note to Victoria's Secret: You're lucky you've already redeemed yourself with the Phillies panties.

Bella senses my hesitation and her impatience must get the best of her. Her fingers untwist the little clasp in the front of the bra, and her perfect tits pop out with a little bounce. She slides it off her shoulders and it joins her t-shirt on the floor.

"God, you're so perfect." I return my hands back underneath her tits and plump them up a little. No wonder guys like to play with girls' tits so much. They are very entertaining, but if I continue to just stare at them I might come right here, right now. Especially since Bella is currently straddling me in nothing but her panties. Maybe I should shed some clothes, too. I tug at the hem of my t-shirt and Bella helps me take it off. Her hands immediately go to the waistband of my shorts, but I stop her.

"No. I want to take care of you first." I whisper.

She nods her head, "Okay. I'm going to lie down." She lifts herself off of my lap and lies down on the sectional. I scoot in next to her. I'm basically on top of her trying to squeeze in, but I have just enough space to get my hand where it needs to go. First, I trace my fingers up and down, over her stomach. Bella's squirming. My nerves are getting the best of me, but I get braver with each pass and go a little lower each time. All the while, Bella has her fingers threaded through my hair. Eventually, my fingers graze her skin below the lace waistband of her panties. Bella Whimpers, "Please Edward, you're driving me crazy. _Please_."

_Okay, if you're going to beg._ I drag my fingers down farther, underneath her panties and try to find the spot that Bella showed me weeks ago. I have thought about that magical spot a million times since then. I've had a lot of practice touching her there…_in my mind_. As soon as my middle finger makes contact, she whimpers and tugs hard on my hair. _Found it_.

I rub lightly and she squirms beneath my touch. I ask her if she wants me to rub harder. Her eyes are squeezed shut, but she nods her head. So, I do. She breathes deeply. I breathe deeply. She moans. I moan. She pulls my face to hers and our lips collide. The feeling I had in my stomach earlier is nothing compared to what I'm feeling right now. I'm completely squished into the side of the sectional, but I could care less.

Bella pulls away from me a little and tries to get her hands down my body. I know what she's trying to get to, so I stop rubbing her and move so that she has access to what she wants. She pulls out the waistband of my shorts and before I know it, her hand is wrapped me. The initial contact makes my entire body spasm. I grunt out a few _fucks _and _Gods_ before Bella gets herself situated and then I go back to touching her. We're so wrapped up in each other it's difficult to tell where one of us ends and the other begins. She's having a hard time getting at what she wants because I'm still partially dressed.

I roll over on my back enough that I can slide my shorts down over my hips and legs, then kick them off in what is possibly the most awkward action I've ever performed. Bella just giggles a little then proceeds to pull me back to her and get her hand back into my boxers. I experience another pleasure spasm and I grunt out, "ungh…Bella."

I begin rubbing her spot for the third time and I think she's the wettest she's ever been. Her hand strokes me up and down and I fear I may come too soon. So, I whisper for her to slow down. I can see her belly begin to tense up a little and her whimpers and noises are becoming more frequent. I could listen to those sounds all day.

"Inside," she whispers. Huh? She wants me inside? "Inside me, Edward," she repeats. Ohhhhhhh…then it occurs to me what she's requesting. Shit! I haven't done that yet, but here goes nothing. I trail my middle finger down until I discover what I'm looking for. Then, very slowly I glide it up inside of her until I can't go any further. She groans like I've never heard her before and she squeezes my dick, _hard_, and another whole chain of expletives escapes from my mouth.

"Does this feel good, Edward? I want you to feel as good as I do."

I nod my head, "Am…am I doing this right?" I ask because I have no clue what I'm doing here.

"Mmmmhmmm…so fucking right."

I keep moving my middle finger inside of her. Then, I get an idea. I mean I _actually_ have a good idea about sex that no one else has showed me. I know how much she likes _that_ _other spot_ rubbed. So, I sit up a little and use the thumb on my other hand to begin rubbing _there_ simultaneously. This time, it's Bella's turn for the expletives. I must say, she has quite the dirty mouth when provoked.

I feel her begin to tighten and she throws her head back into the cushion. Her whole body shakes and she cries out my name. It is the most fantastic thing I've ever heard. On her next stroke up, my body begins to shake like hers as I come all over her belly. We both slow our movements and come to a complete stop. We are a panting, sweaty, out of breath and satisfied pair. I look down at her stomach.

"Sorry," I tell her, somewhat embarrassed.

"What the hell for?" She asks.

"For getting that all over you," I mumble into her neck.

But, like always, Bella surprises me, "Edward, you make me feel so good. You can come on my tits next time if you want," _Sweet Lord_, this girl. She'll be the death of me, I swear.

"But do you mind" she waves her hand over her stomach, "getting me some tissues?"

After I clean the two of us up, Bella and I remain in just our underwear cuddled underneath the blanket. The television is on, but neither of us is watching it. I'm wrapped up in her arms with my head resting on her chest. Her fingers run gently through my hair. I can't help but run my fingertips over the soft skin of her belly.

She giggles softly, "If you keep touching me, I'm going to be ready for another round of that, _Edward._"

"Another round of what exactly, _Bella_?" I know the answer but it's so fun to tease her. "Give me at least fifteen minutes," I say and she giggles.

Only moments later, does she tug hard on my hair and pull my face to hers. She pokes out her little tongue and wets her lips. The smile spreading across them mirrors my own. We begin kissing again, slowly and gently. I start feeling that pull in my stomach and I'm hard once again.

"Then again, maybe I don't need fifteen minutes." I roll over onto her and attack her neck with my mouth. She squeals.

_And truly, I don't…_

**A/N: Thanks to all of you still along for this ride. Feel free to leave me some love on the review page. _I like positive reinforcement._ As always, kissed from the RedKat. See you next week!**

**If you haven't yet, be sure to check out the Dirty Talkin' Edward contest.**

** u/4742504/Dirty-Talkin-Edward-contest**


	7. Chapter 7

_******Disclaimer: Everything belongs to our queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine.**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

September has quickly progressed into October. So much is going on in my life it's hard for me to catch up. Due to the weather, the entire fair ended up being canceled. So, Garrett never made it up here to visit me. Most of my free time is so preoccupied with Bella that I've barely spoken to my friends from home. We spend nearly every Saturday at Shikellamy State Park overlook, which Bella has nicknamed "our spot". I love the sound of that. Sometimes we talk and breathe in the fresh air, taking in the scenery. Most of the time, we just make out.

Bella and I have had a few more intimate moments like the one on the sectional that morning, and afternoon and evening. Yes. Three in one day has been our max. Now that my brain has drawn an imaginary treasure map to Bella's "magical spot", I love trying out my new-found skills. She loves it, too.

Homecoming court was announced at school recently. It was no surprise that Bella is one of the five girls in the running for queen. I thought Bella would be thrilled, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I thought most girls loved that kind of thing, but apparently Bella is not "most girls." I guess I should have seen that one coming. Every time I bring up the subject, she tells me to "shut the fuck up." I just laugh at her and she scowls at me.

The Saturday before Homecoming Bella talks me into going shopping with her for something to wear to the ceremony. I only agree because she consents to accompany me on a visit to see Pop afterwards. I'm curious as to what the crazy old man will say to her. I'm even more curious about what he'll say _about her._

"Ugh!" I hear come from behind the door in Macy's Department Store dressing room that afternoon. I'm sitting on the bench just outside the door. I can see Bella's bare feet from underneath it. She pushes herself up on her tiptoes and back down over and over, facing different directions each time.

"Do you want me to look at something?" Maybe I shouldn't even ask.

"Not this one. That's for sure." Bella answers in her little "angry" voice. I even like her when she's frustrated.

I see the current garment fall to the floor and she kicks it to the side with her toes. I could stare at her bare feet all day. They're so pretty. Hmmm…maybe I'm one of those dudes with a foot fetish. For one second, I think about sucking on her toes and, nope. No way. That's disgusting. Definitely not a foot man. Boob man. Yes. Ass man. _Hell yes._

My thoughts are disrupted by a loud sigh coming from the dressing room, "Okay," she whines, "I think I might actually like this one."

I see the handle on the door turn and I stand up to greet her. Bella steps out of the dressing room on her tiptoes. Her head is down and she's looking at her toes. She steps forward and takes my breath away. She's beautiful.

"You're perfect." I say before my brain-to-mouth filter has a chance to operate.

Bella looks up at me. Her face is serious. "No, Edward. I'm not."

She turns and walks slowly to the three-way mirror at the far end of the dressing area. I follow closely behind her. She looks at herself in the mirror and puts her hands on her hips, examining all facets of the dress in the mirror. It is short, black, tight and lacey. In my opinion, these would be the four requirements of any hot dress. She looks up at me in the mirror and smiles a little.

"What are you thinking?" She asks me.

"I'm thinking you're too good to be true."

"Not about me, Edward, the dress."

"You should definitely buy it."

…_and she does._

An hour later, we have shoes and jewelry to go with the dress and even a strapless bra. Yes. I went into Victoria's Secret with her. I've never been in the actual store before. It's very "pink" in there. I felt a little emasculated. I did, however, take a mental inventory of things I would like to see Bella in, either in person or in my fantasies.

After having a quick slice of pizza and a soda, we head over to see Pop. Dad and Emmett are just leaving Pop's room as we arrive. Emmett asks Bella how she managed to find a dress with me as her consultant. She just giggles and says, "very well, actually." I give Emmett a cocky grin. He uses his pointer finger to pretend he's making himself vomit. Then he stands straight up with his hands behind his back as soon as Dad looks in his direction. I stick my tongue out at him. Just about that time, one of the social directors peeks her head in the doorway.

"Can anyone help me set up for the poker tournament?" She asks.

"Well, that's our cue to exit," my father replies and motions at Emmett to leave with him. Emmett kisses Pop on the head and bids him good luck at the tournament. Bella pleasantly surprises me and volunteers to help the social director. I watch her ass sway as she exits the room behind everyone. From his chair, Pop catches me in the act. He grins from ear to ear.

"I'll tell you one thing, grandson of mine. I never had a baby-sitter that looked like that," he says shaking his head and thumbing toward the door.

"Please don't call her that, Pop."

"Well, that's what she is, isn't she?"

I frown and shrug my shoulders.

"Or," he continues, "is she more than that?" His tone is serious now. I don't know how to read him.

"I think I might love her," The words fall from my lips and take me by surprise, "Please don't tell my dad. He'll fire her. I just…"

He interrupts me before I can finish, "Hush now. He's not going to fire her. You think he doesn't know about the two of you?"

"He knows?" I press further and throw myself into one of the wingback chairs.

"Of course he knows. Any man who's ever been in love can see what's written all over that face of yours, and _hers_ for that matter. Is this the same girl you were having lady-troubles with a few weeks ago?"

I just nod my head and Pop continues, "Waited just like the old man told ya and it worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah Pop," I chuckle, "you give good advice."

"Good. I'm glad you feel that way because I'm going to give you a little more," he says with a wink. I put my head in my hands, resting my elbows on my knees and he continues.

"That girl is going to go to college. You need to let her go. Don't hold her back. _Wait_. Remember, waiting is a good thing. It allows you to stand out in the long run."

I lift my head up from my hands. As much as I hate his words, I know he's right. I've thought many times about Bella leaving next year.

"I know, Pop. I'm going to try."

"You kiss her yet?"

"Maybe," I tell him and he chuckles at me.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

* * *

"How many shirts are you going to try on?" My brother's voice is grating on my nerves. I attempt, in vain, to ignore him.

"Seriously Eddie, no one is going to be looking at you when they have Bella's tits to gawk at." I've had enough of his antics. He purposely tries to get me fired up and I don't want him to win this time. So, I play it cool. I'm going to need to play it cool all night, so I might as well start now.

It's the evening of Homecoming. The candidates for queen will be escorted onto the football field at Bucknell University's Bison Stadium by their parents. Bella's mother is not coming, but Charlie will be there for her, as he always is. Even my dad is coming to the game to support her. After the game against Montoursville, there is a dance where the queen will be crowned. Bella and I are not going as a couple, but I want to look good for her nonetheless. We are both invited to a party at Eric Yorkie's again. His parents go out of town a lot, I guess.

I'm going to see Garrett tomorrow. His dad had gotten us tickets for the Phillies-Braves game. They're probably going to lose, but I'm not a fair-weather fan. Jimmy Rollins, who is my base-stealing idol can't even catch a break this year. I'll go and support them anyway. Besides, Bella promised to wear her Phillies panties and watch the game at home in them and nothing else. I asked if she would send me a picture, but she kindly declined.

It's going to be very difficult for me to attend all of this evening's events and not go near Bella. She says she doesn't want Jacob to know anything "for my sake." I'm not sure how much longer I can buy that excuse before I begin to wonder if that's the real reason. For now, I accept it. Like Pop told me, I need to wait it out.

"Something's different about you," Emmett ponders out loud.

"Yeah. It's called 'I don't tolerate your shit anymore.'"

"No. It's something else. You're awfully calm and happy most of the time. Your teenage angst bullshit is gone," he continues to think aloud, "That can only mean one thing."

"And what's that, O Knowledgeable One?" I ask.

"You're getting laid, aren't you?" He asks in wonder and amazement.

"No! I'm not. _Getting laid._" I reply.

"Well, you're getting off somehow and…No! You know what? Never mind. I don't even want to know." He throws his hands in the air and turns to leave my room.

"Hand jobs," I call out to him.

"Huh?" he whips back around.

"_Hand jobs_. From Bella. That's how I'm getting off. And phone sex. Every night. _With Bella_." Take that, smart ass. Emmett looks bothered at first, but then his mouth curls up into one of his sly grins. Of course, as always, he has to have the last word.

"Blow jobs." He says ant turns to stalk out the door again.

"Huh?" Now it's my turn to be confused.

"_Blow jobs,_" he repeats slowly. "Until you're getting those from Bella, I don't need to know anything else." And with that, he's gone.

I sit in the bleachers with my father and Emmett waiting for the Homecoming Court to be announced. I finally settled on grey pants, a black button down and my favorite silver tie. I wore my dance attire here so I wouldn't have to go home and change after the game. I'm also wearing the nice wool coat my mother bought me from J. Crew last winter. She told me how handsome I looked in it. Since hers is the only female opinion I've ever gotten, I went with it. I even have my hair styled sticking up and messy. Bella tells me all of the time that she loves my hair like that, and this is _her_ night after all.

The Lewisburg Dragons are ahead 21-7 at the end of the first half. If they win this one, they will be 6-0, placing them in first place in their district. It's all Jasper has talked about this past week. From my seat, I can see Alice cheering in the student section, seated next to her friend Kate. Evidently, Kate's dating Eric Yorkie now. At least he can drive, and therefore they can actually "date".

As soon as the buzzer sounds and the players run off the field, five convertibles enter onto to the track, driving the five Homecoming princesses around the stadium to the home sidelines. Since they are in alphabetical order, Bella's is the last one. It's a red corvette on loan from the local dealer. I suddenly have a new fantasy in mind involving Bella and the hood of that car. It also involves the black leather knee-high boots that she wore to school the other day.

The first four girls have their heads held high as they circle the stadium. They're smiling and waving at people they know. Not Bella, her head is slightly cast down. She's wearing her fake smile that is usually reserved for people that she really doesn't want to talk to, but is too sweet and polite to ignore them.

The closer Bella gets, the better I can see how pretty she looks tonight. Her hair is curled again in long brown waves. However, she informed me that she will be pulling it up for the dance. I can't wait to see her in that black lace dress and the hot shoes she bought. As her convertible comes to a stop, Charlie steps towards her and offers his arm to help her step out. Right now, she's wearing a little red wool coat and scarf. I don't know what's underneath it, but I can see her short black skirt with these lacey tight things underneath it. Don't ask me what they're called. I'm just a heterosexual fifteen-year-old guy. All I know is that they are fucking sexy.

The other four girls have one bouquet of flowers. My girl has two, one bouquet of red roses from Charlie and one bouquet of pink roses from me, Dad and Emmett. The other girls also have a mom and a dad present. My girl doesn't need her mom. She has her Cullen men instead.

They announce each girl as they are escorted onto the field, including information about where they will attend school. The announcer says that Bella hopes to attend University of Penn, majoring in journalism. My father beams and we all clap for her. Her head snaps up as she searches for us amongst the fans. When she finally spots me, I am gifted with the most beautiful smile. She's glowing. The butterflies make another appearance in my gut. My heart sinks and I feel a familiar pull inside of me. It's in this moment that I come to a conclusion that I have been fighting off for weeks. I try to fight it again, but this time it is futile. As I look at her sweet, sweet face and her eyes lock with mine, I know it. I can't control it any longer. I am so in love with this girl, and I am so afraid at the very same time.

Two hours later, I'm in the school cafeteria sitting next to Jasper and Alice listening to lame dance music. A couple of freaks are on the dance floor dancing like…well dancing like white boys. There are a group of girls in a circle dancing and singing along to Pit Bull, or whatever it is. I haven't seen Bella since she dropped me off at the door. She went around the back of the school to get changed with the other girls. The ride over to the school was pretty quiet. I thought maybe it was just her nerves about Homecoming and my nerves about my feelings. As the night goes on, I'm becoming more and more anxious. The feelings I experienced earlier weigh heavily on my mind. Jasper notices the tension.

"Dude, you okay?" he speaks loudly in my ear over the music. I just shrug.

"You sure?" he asks again. I nod this time. As much as I want to tell someone my feelings for Bella, I know Jasper is not the right guy. I also know that I cannot, no matter what, tell Bella. I scared her away the last time I tried. I can't risk the rejection again. Wait. I'll just wait. Exactly like my Pop told me.

Suddenly, the music stops playing and Mr. Banner's voice comes over the speakers, "Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, I ask that you all remain silent while I introduce your Homecoming Princesses. Please hold all applause until I have finished announcing each girl." He begins to read through the list. Once again, Bella is last. She enters the cafeteria from a side door. I am completely blown away. She looks even more beautiful in that dress than she did that day in the dressing room. Her hair is pulled up delicately off her neck and some loose curls frame her little face. The high heels make her legs look long and lift her perfect ass up. She is absolute perfection. Well, almost. One thing is missing, her smile.

Bella looks absolutely mortified. Her arms are folded around her and she looks everywhere but out at all of us. For the most part, she keeps her eyes cast down and crosses her right leg over her left. I've never seen her look so awkward. I know she doesn't like a lot of attention like this, but I didn't think it was this bad. I finally catch up to Mr. Banner's words

"…and I am pleased to announce Lewis burg High School's Homecoming Queen …" he looks down at the note in his hand, "Isabella Swan."

The student body cheers. Bella's face jerks up and she plasters that fake smile on her face again. Mr. Banner walks over to her and places the tiara on her head. She looks like a frightened kitten. I want to run to her. I want to hug her and hold her and show everyone in this cafeteria that she is mine. Before I have a chance to, kids rush the stage. The other girls hug her and the crowd around her becomes thicker and thicker. I search for her little body in the heavy crowd with my eyes. My body is unable to move. I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn, hoping to see Bella, but instead find Jasper. His arm is around Alice.

"You need a ride to Yorkie's?" he asks, "Kate's driving us." I glance up at the stage and I'm still not able to find Bella. I know she's going to the party, so I figure I stand a better chance of seeing her there.

"Yeah. Would she mind?"

"She already told us to ask you," Alice replies, "She went to get the car."

I quickly pull out my phone and text Bella.

*Congratulations my sweet Queen. I'm heading over to Yorkie's. See you there.*

I never get a reply. I wait an hour at the party for her to arrive before I start to get really concerned. Several of the other girls from the Homecoming Court are here. I ask each of them if they've seen Bella. None of them have. I start asking random people whom I don't even know. Everyone gives me the same answer: They haven't seen her since she was crowned. I begin to panic, checking my phone every minute. Nothing. I call her over and over. No answer. It goes right to voicemail. Looking around the party, I realize everyone is buzzed, drunk or stoned.

I can't stay here. I have to find her, so I start walking. I know it's at least two miles to our houses, but I don't care. She is obviously upset about something. I get about two blocks away when I hear someone calling for me. I turn in the direction of the voice and see Jasper jogging toward me. I wait up for him and when he reaches me and is slightly winded.

"Hey. Can't you find her?" he asks and I realize that I haven't been hiding anything from him. He's onto me and now is not the time to pretend.

"No. She has me worried."

"No worries," he dangles a set of car keys in front of my face and smiles.

"You can't drive." I say, confused.

"I'm not sixteen. Doesn't mean I can't _drive._" He smirks at me. This is why Jasper and I are friends. "Come on. Kate told me to take you. For some crazy reason, she thinks you and Bella belong together." I grab the keys from his hand and take off running in the direction of Kate's car.

Jasper drives pretty well. He'll have no problem getting his license when the time comes. One thing he does not do well, however, is mind his own business.

"So what _is_ going on with you and Bella, Cullen?"

I cover my face with my hands and then run them through my hair, making it stick up all over the place. I can't tell him too much, but I don't want to lie either. He already is onto the situation. Maybe Bella and I don't hide things as well as we think we do. First my dad, and now Jasper.

"We're together, but we're _not._" I respond, like the genius I am.

"That makes perfect sense," Jasper rolls his eyes at me and reminds me of something Emmett would say.

"I know it doesn't make any sense. We just…we just don't want to define anything. I don't know," I shake my head in frustration, "I'm beginning to wonder. Maybe she's embarrassed of me." I shrug.

Jasper snorts really loud, "Are you kidding me? She looks at you like she wants to eat you. Embarrassed? _Hardly_. You two aren't hiding anything from anyone, Cullen. It's like everyone knows except the two of you. Have you kissed her?"

I nod my head yes. "We've done other stuff, too." I admit.

"I knew it!" Jasper shouts and slams the palms of his hands on the steering wheel. He puts his fist out as an invitation for me to bump it with mine. I do, and laugh nervously because I'm a little worried to be admitting it out loud.

"D'you fuck her?" He presses on. I shake my head this time. "Huh. Being the polite, gentlemanly type, are you? You dirty dog," he reaches over and messes my hair. "I knew it! Alice owes me twenty bucks."

"Alice knows!" I gasp.

"Dude, everyone knows, even Jacob." With that, the car becomes silent. Jasper pulls up our street. Bella's car is parked in her driveway, but there are no lights on. The lights are all out in my house as well, with the exception of the porch light Dad must have left on for me. I'm disappointed when I seen our stoop empty. I was hoping Bella would be waiting there for me like the last time.

"She's not here." I mutter.

"Yes she is." Jasper replies. I look over at him and find him staring at her house. The lights are all out, but in the darkness I can see a figure sitting on the porch swing. I can't tell if she sees us or not, but I'm positive she can hear the car engine and, by now, she must recognize Kate's car.

Jasper looks over at me, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" I exit the car hesitantly and close the door as quietly as I can so I don't wake my father or brother. The police cruiser is not in the driveway, so I know Charlie is at work. I turn back and wave at Jasper as he pulls away. As soon as I get to the steps on her porch, our eyes lock. She's not crying this time, but there is sadness in them. She's still wearing her crown, though her hair is now a little disheveled. She doesn't speak.

I walk over to her and sit beside her on the swing. She holds her shoes in her lap and uses her little toes to push off the floor and move the swing backward and forward. I loosen my tie and pull it over my head, setting it next to me. I take one of her hands and hold it in mine. Bella sighs at my touch.

"I didn't want to be the queen, Edward."

"I know." I respond. She looks at me with surprise.

"Okay. _You know_, but do you know why?" She's got me on this one. I really have no idea. I thought it was every girls dream to win Homecoming Queen. I shake my head.

"_My fucking mother_. Why? Everyone loves me, Edward. Everyone, but the one person I need it from the most." I let her continue, "Tonight was just one more way for me to hear, 'You're a great person, Isabella. We all know it. Everyone thinks you're special. Everyone thinks you deserve respect and adoration. Everyone but her!'"

I pull her into me and hold on for dear life. She wraps herself up in me. I just hold her. I don't know what else to do. There is nothing I can say to erase what her mother has put her through. I rub my hand up and down her spine and she loosens her grip on me a little and breathes deeply. I let go with one arm and lift her chin so that I can look her in the eyes. She shows no signs of crying. Her walls must be built up so high when it comes to Renee Swan.

I lightly use the pad of my thumb to caress her cheek bone. Bella stares at my lips. She wants me to kiss her, and I will, but first…

"So pretty." I tell her quietly. Her lips part slightly and her tongue peeks out to wet them. I hold her in one arm and continue stroking her cheek with the other hand until I can't hold back any longer. I lean in slowly and press my lips to hers. It feels so good. Her shoes fall from her lap and onto the porch. I guide my hand down and caress her collarbone with my thumb. Bella moans a little into my mouth. That's all it takes for me to become hard, quickly.

We kiss and kiss and kiss some more. Bella's little hands fist my shirt, and then climb their way up to my hair. She runs her fingers over my scalp. I move my hands from her collar bone to her tits because, hey, that's just where they're being pulled to. She feels so good. Everything. _Everything feels so good._ The kiss is intense. We're all tongues and teeth and heavy breaths. Eventually, my hands are at her waist, her hips, pulling her to me. It's hard with her dress on. Bella breaks away for a moment.

"Let's go upstairs," she whispers into my neck. Would I ever refuse her? Hell no. I pick her shoes up off of the floor for her and let her lead me into the house and up the stairs. When we get to her bedroom, she pulls the crown from her head and lays it on her dresser. The light from the street lamp outside sheds light on the room. I've never been in Bella's bedroom before. I've only seen it through the window. It's unsurprisingly neat and tidy. Her bedding is purple and has tons of pillows on it. What is it with women and pillows? My mom always had pillows on all of our beds in the other house. It used to take me ten extra minutes to get into bed at night. More importantly, why am I thinking about pillows right now?

I stand at the foot of Bella's bed. She wraps her arms around my waist. I mimic her position. "You always make me feel so good, Edward. Can I return the favor?" She looks up at me from underneath her long lashes. She's blushing. I nod my head, "yes".

She doesn't hesitate, pulling my shirt out from my pants and going right for the zipper. I begin unbuttoning my shirt. Before she can get my pants down, I kick off my shoes. Once my shirt is completely unbuttoned, Bella places small kissed to my chest and pushes the sleeves from my arms. She runs her fingers over my chest and stomach. As much as I'm enjoying this, I would much rather be enjoying Bella's naked body.

"Do you need help taking your dress off?"

Bella smiles and nods her head. She turns around and allows me to pull down the zipper. Inch by inch her perfect skin is exposed to me. I kiss her shoulders, first one and then the other, and slide the lace arms of her dress off. Bella turns back around and slides the dress off the rest of the way, letting it fall to her feet. She stands before me in black lace panties and strapless bra. I have to look at her eyes because I'm afraid I'll come right then and there. She reaches up and pulls the pin out of her hair and then uses her fingers to comb through the waves.

I lean in and kiss her. Sometimes I still feel so awkward around Bella, like I'm not doing anything right, but she always tells me that I do everything right. This gives me the confidence to move forward. She puts her fingers on the waistband of my pants and slides them down. I step out of them carefully. "Sit down." She whispers and pushes me toward the bed. I sit on the edge and she kneels in front of me, between my legs. I gaze down at her. She's staring at my dick, which is painfully hard in my boxers. Her tits are popping out of the top of the bra and I am enjoying the view.

Bella pulls out the waistband of my boxers and reaches in, releasing me. I close my eyes, anticipating her hands on my dick. I was so wrong. Instead, I feel her little tongue circle the head of my dick. I involuntarily jerk and grab the sheets.

"_Fuuuuuuuuck,_" I groan. She looks up at me and smiles, apparently pleased with herself. Then she continues. She licks around the tip a few times and I begin to understand what the big deal about blow jobs truly is. She places the tip of her tongue at the base and licks all the way to the top in one movement. I curse again. Then, before I even have a chance to recover, she wraps her lips around me and goes down as far as she can, which luckily for me, is pretty damn far. I'm done. I am so done. I think I may come any second. I grab her head and pull her off gently. Keeping my eyes closed, I take a few deep breaths.

"Please," I beg, "That feels so good. I just need a minute."

"Okay." She says sweetly and quietly.

I try to think of things that would turn me off, brussel sprouts, sitting in the dugout with a bunch of guys, Pop-_naked_. Blech. There, that helped.

"Okay. Go ahead." I tell her and, this time, she really goes for it. She slides her mouth up and down over me. The warmth. The wetness. It's like nothing I've ever felt before. I'm spoiled now. Hand jobs will never be the same. She continues to move up and down, stroking me with her hand at the same time and taking me in as far as she can. I wish I could watch her, but that would be too much stimulation right now.

Suddenly, she releases me from her mouth and whispers my name. I'm forced to look down. "Edward, I want you to come in my mouth." She tells me, her face reddening slightly. If I die right now, I'd be fine with it. "Bella, I…can't…"

"No," she interrupts, "I want you to."

Before I have a chance to respond, she returns to her ministrations. It's only a matter of time before the pressure begins to build. Bella must sense it because she starts going faster and faster, gripping and twisting and sucking. It's building and building, and then finally, with a loud groan I release into her mouth. Words cannot even begin to explain the feeling of coming inside of her. No wonder guys like to do that. If only I had known what I was missing.

For a long time, I am unable to open my eyes and I allow my breathing to slow down. When I do open my eyes, Bella is looking up at me as if she's waiting for a reaction.

"Did you…uh…swallow that?" A large smile spreads across her face as she nods her head. She looks so proud.

I throw myself back on the bed, "_Fuck_, Bella."

She giggles, "Did you like that?"

Before I have a chance to answer, we hear the front door open and footsteps follow. We're both frozen in fear for a few seconds. Bella regains control and throws my clothes at me. She tiptoes quickly to her bedroom door and grabs her robe from where it hangs. Then, she puts her little finger to her lips, urging me to stay quiet.

"Bella?" _Shit!_ It's my dad. She looks over at me puts her finger to her lips again.

"Dr. Cullen?" She slips into her robe and exits the room. I listen to their conversation. Bella stays at the top of the steps

"Have you seen Edward?"

"Um…I talked to him?" I hate that she has to lie to him.

"Well, I'm starting to worry. I've been trying to call and he's not responding. Did he say where he was?"

I glance down at the pocket of my pants where my phone is, on silent. I take it out. Sure enough, six missed calls and two texts from my father.

"He was at the party. I can try calling him." Bella replies.

"Okay. Just tell him to come home or call me if he needs a ride. Sorry to wake you."

"No problem, Dr. Cullen."

"By the way, who won queen?"

"I did." Her voice becomes sad again.

"Well congratulations. It's well-deserved."

"Thank you, sir."

"You really should keep this door locked." He adds.

"I will, sir. "Goodnight."

"Oh and one more thing," my father pauses for dramatic effect, "Tell Edward he left his tie on the swing."

**_A/N: Thanks again for reading. How about some reviews? _**

**_Voting has started for the Dirty Talkin' Edward Contest. One of those dirty, smutty fluffs is mine. See my profile for the link. As always, kisses from the RedKat. See you next week!_**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to our queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine.**_

_**This chapter is short and sweet. I just wanted to get it published on time for you lovely gals.**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

The following morning, Dad wakes me up early to drive to Philly for the game. I dread the drive there in the car alone with my father. I'm not sure how much he actually knows about Bella and me last night. He knows that I was on Bella's porch, at the very least. I had waited about ten minutes after he left to text him that I was on my way home. Then, at Bella's request, I snuck out her back door and through her backyard to make it appear that I was walking from someplace else. I really didn't see a need for such dramatics, but if it made her feel better I was willing to try. Bella was convinced that my dad didn't know that I was actually there. If he had, she claimed, he would have been angrier and confronted the two of us right then and there. As much as I want to believe her theory, I know my dad a little better than she does. I think he's just waiting until he gets me alone.

Fortunately for me, Dad has been working fewer hours at the hospital recently. He's no longer the low man on the totem pole, and he has proved himself as a competent physician. He seems so much less stressed than he was when we initially moved to Lewisburg. I'm hoping this works to my advantage. He is now able to pick Emmett up from school and me from practice a few days a week. Bella still cooks for us, and Emmett and I help her with the laundry.

Emmett is not making the trip with us today. Bella is going to stay with him until my dad gets back. I'll be spending the night at Garrett's again. I love hanging out with my real friends, but I would much rather be here with Bella tonight. I'm so pussy-whipped.

Bella and I are going to have to engage in some sort of conversation about our relationship. I never had the chance to tell her what Jasper had shared with me last night regarding the knowledge of our status amongst our classmates. I'm not going to encourage "defining" anything. I just want her to be aware that people are talking. This is a small town, after all. We're going to have to come up with a better plan.

I stand outside Emmett's door and hear him stirring a little. I "owe" Emmett some information and I can't wait to rub it in his arrogant little face. I don't even knock before I enter his room and flop down on his bed. He rolls over and covers his head with the blanket and mumbles something that I can't make out with the exception of the word "douchebag". I continue on anyway.

"So, do you want to hear about my recent sexcapades with Bella?" I ask and he grumbles and mumbles some more. This time the only word I can comprehend is "peckerhead". I rip the blanket off of him.

"Aren't you interested, Emmy?"

He groans and covers his face with his arm, "I told you Edward. I don't want to hear about lousy hand jobs. Now, go away." This is it. The moment I've been waiting for since the little shit taunted me last night presents itself, "I thought you wanted to hear about blow jobs though."

"Yeah, like that will ever happen." He replies, so sure of himself. I don't say anything. I just stay quiet and let my silence answer his question. He looks over at me and I raise my eyebrows. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

"Would I kid about oral sex, Em?"

A slow grin spreads across his face and he asks, "Her mouth?" I nod. "…was on your dick?" I smile and nod again. "_Bella's mouth_?" He repeats himself.

"Yes, Emmett. _Bella_. Her mouth. My dick. Last night."

He puts his fist up for me to bump it. I do. Then, I wait impatiently. He usually has so much more to say. Perhaps I've left him speechless.

"Okay," Emmett finally finds his words, "I don't need to hear anymore. We're good. All is right in the Universe. The force is strong in you, young jedi."

"You're such a freak, Em."

"I'm starting to think we might actually be biological brothers, Edward."

Bella shows up thirty minutes later. I'm dressed and packed and ready to go. When she sees me across the front room, her face glows and the light in her eyes gives me funny feelings deep down in my stomach. Images of her last night flash through my mind. Images of her in those black lace panties; images of her tongue and her mouth; images of her face after she admitted that she had swallowed; images of her on her back porch, in her little bath robe, blowing me kisses as I snuck off into the night.

I stare at her mouth for awhile. Then, my eyes travel up to hers. She licks her top lip and bites down on her bottom one. I wonder what she's thinking. Her cheeks are a little flushed. Maybe she's thinking about the same things I am. I peek down the hall to make sure Dad is still in his bedroom. Then, I walk quietly over to her and kiss her sweet, sweet mouth. She tastes so fucking good, like minty toothpaste and strawberry Chapstick. Bella hums lightly as our lips work in unison. My arms slide around her waist and she holds on to my arms for dear life. Slowly, they move up and over until they reach the nape of my neck. Once there, they fist in my hair and tug and pull and give me shivers. I push my tongue into her mouth and moan slightly when her tongue finds its way into mine. I could kiss her and kiss her all day, but all good things must come to an end. Bella pulls away and giggles. Glancing toward the hall, she puts her finger to her lips.

I remove my arms from around her and I rub my hand up and down her arm lightly. "I've been thinking about you nonstop since I left last night." I don't know what it is about Bella, but I'm never too shy or embarrassed to tell her how I feel. It could be because she's always so open and honest with me. It could be love. She smiles and giggles a little more, "Me too. Can I tell you a secret?" I nod like a puppy waiting for a treat.

Her cheeks flush red before she whispers, "I…um…I tried…touching myself…_again_…after you left last night." I stare at her plump, soft bottom lip, which she keeps chewing on. Her eyes are cast down and I can tell she is slightly embarrassed. I place my hand on her hip and slide it down over the curve of her ass. Have I mentioned I love her ass? _Oh shit. _I'm hard. I tug at my t-shirt with my free hand and make sure it's covering my pants. "And…?"

"…and I pretended you were there and I was…_you know_…doing what I did to you last night." She flushes some more.

"Oh?" I choke out because it's all I can muster at this precise moment.

If it's possible, her voice becomes even quieter, "I made myself…_come."_

"Come here please, Edward!" My dad yells from down the hall. I jump. Bella covers her mouth. Her eyes grow big like saucers and she begins giggling uncontrollably. I close my eyes and clench my fists at my sides, trying to regain my composure.

"You're trying to kill me, aren't you?" I whisper. Bella removes her hands from her mouth and nods her head. "Oh wait," she says and turns around to get her purse, which is on the chair behind her, "I almost forgot. Here." She hands me my tie. It brings back the images from last night once more. I stare at her mouth again, picturing it on me.

"Edward!" My father calls again. Bella shushes me with her hands, mouthing the word "go". I listen like the good little pussy-whipped, love-sick puppy that I am. I find my father standing in the kitchen with his wallet open. He gives me money to put in my bag so that I have cash for the game and for meals with Garrett's family.

Bella and I text each other for the first thirty minutes of the drive. Every so often, I see my father eying me from the driver's seat. Surely, he's wondering who I'm texting. I can't hide the elation on my face. Especially after Bella types how hot she thinks I am and that she likes when my hair is a little longer so she can run her fingers through it. I type back telling her how pretty she is and how I particularly enjoy staring at her ass in jeans, or skirts, or yoga pants or those panties she has that her butt cheeks hang out of. Jesus. She makes me hard.

We no sooner get onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike when my dad must not be able to hold it in any longer. "So, where were you last night when I was calling you?" I'm really not surprised. I knew it was coming. I have a really hard time lying to my father. Our family has always maintained open and honest relationships with one another. Even if he is aware of Bella and my current relationships status, I still don't want to admit to him that I was in Bella's bedroom last night. I'll never be allowed to go over there again.

"Well Edward?" He asks again. My eyes cannot look in his direction. Why is it so hard to look at him?

"I…uh…was at Yorkie's again. It was just so loud. I couldn't hear my phone." That sounds plausible enough.

"But you heard your phone when Bella called?" _Shit shit shit! _Before I have the opportunity to even think up an excuse, he continues his tirade. "Edward, don't lie to me. Whatever you do, don't lie. I won't be upset with you as long as you are honest with me about your relationship with Bella. However, I do feel we need to have a serious conversation about where it is headed. Now, I'll ask again. Where were you last night?"

_Busted._ Even though, I anticipated this was coming, I am still not prepared for it. "I _was_ a Yorkie's," he glares at me, "Let me finish," I plead. He returns his eyes to the road. I relay the events of the evening, including Jasper's desperate attempt at driving me to find Bella. Dad was not very pleased with that little detail. I explain that Bella was upset over her mother's absence and I was comforting her. Finally, I admit that I was in Bella's bedroom when he came to the door.

"Why did you need to be in her bedroom?" He remains fairly calm as he asks, never taking his eyes off the road. I tell him that's where Bella felt comfortable. It's a half-truth. She was "comfortable" alright.

"Edward, I realize that you and Bella have a …_special_ relationship outside of her being a caretaker for you. I wasn't born yesterday. I may be in my forties, but my teen years feel like they just happened yesterday. I remember the first time I Iaid eyes on your mother. I thought she was the most perfect thing on the planet. I was two years older than you are now. However, your mom, she was your age at the time. My feelings for her were so intense. I wanted her, but I had to wait. She was so young and innocent and…

"Dad," I interject, "I…uh…don't really want to hear about you and Mom, um…_intense_?" _Please don't give me the sex talk. Please don't give me the sex talk. Please don't give me the sex talk._ Apparently, he can't read my mind, or he simply chooses not to.

"Sex, Edward. I need to know. If you and Bella are having sex, I need to know that you have been safe. Then I need to demand that it no longer continue in Charlie Swan's house. It's very disrespectful since he trusts you one hundred percent in his home with his daughter." Is he insinuating that he doesn't mind if it happens in our house? I can only hope.

"God Dad! Ugh…I really don't want to have this talk, okay? Didn't we do this when I was like, _eleven_?"

He laughs at me. _Jerk_. Why is he laughing at me? "We talked about the mechanics of it, Edward. Hell, it was practically a medical lesson. I'm talking feelings right now, being in love, wanting to take things to new levels, hormones raging."

"Ugh…_hormones?_ Why Dad? Why do we have to discuss this? Bella and I haven't had sex, okay?" I'm completely wigging out here. Dad and I had discussed the "urges" several years ago. I really don't want to discuss _my urges._ In particular, I don't want to discuss my urges for Bella.

My father laughs some more. "Okay, I get it. This is weird for you, so let me do the talking and you just listen." I roll my eyes and look out the window to my right and take in the boring scenery of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. "Fine," I mutter and rub my fingers through my hair.

"I won't be angry if you and Bella decide to have sex, as long as it's consensual on both sides and as long as you're using protection. If you need condoms, I want you to come to me and _only me. _I don't want you being intimate or suggestive in front of Emmett…"

"Oh please, Emmett could probably write a handbook for me…"

"I'm serious, Edward. Listening, remember?" His tone changes from relaxed to solemn. "There are other alternatives as well. If you feel you can't control yourself, there's always mutual masturbation. That's when…"

"Dad!" My face reddens, "I know what it is!" Please don't ask if I've done that. _Please don't ask._

"Fine. I'll stop. Just remember one thing: honesty. I want to know if and when it's happening. You come to me, _only_, for protection and you stay out of Charlie Swan's house. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir." _ Conversation over. Thank God._

A few hours later, I'm sitting at Citizen's Bank Park waiting for Chase Utley to come up to the plate. I love his "walk-up" song, "Kashmir" by Led Zepplin. I promised Bella that I would record it for her. She now has a mega "crush" on Utley. I'm okay with it. I have a crush on him too. I send the video to her email. Utley hits a double and the Phillies fans go crazy. A few minutes later I get a text message from her with a picture attached. It's Bella wearing my Phillies shirt and nothing else, taken in the full-length mirror. The message says, "Hoping for a homerun". I smile so wide that my cheeks hurt. _This girl_. She's amazing. Garrett selects this exact moment to return with our sodas.

"Who is that?" He startles me out of my Bella-induced stupor. I quickly put my phone down, but it's too late. I had planned on telling Gar about Bella this weekend anyway, so now is as good of a time as any. I turn the phone back over and show him the picture.

"Bella," I answer, matter-of-factly. At that precise moment, Jimmy Rollins comes out to his "walk-up" song "My Chick Bad" by Ludacris. The song reminds me of Bella and I make a mental note to download it so I can use it for her ringtone.

"Oh yeah. It is." He thinks this over for a few moments. I see the confusion on his face. "So, why is Emmett's baby-sitter sending you pictures of herself. Shouldn't she be changing Em's diapers or something?"

"Well actually, she's kind of my girlfriend. We haven't really defined anything yet, but…"

"I thought you said she had a boyfriend." He interjects before I have a chance to explain.

"She did. They broke-up." It's the truth after all.

"Oh, so you're the rebound then. _Awesome_. You're going to get laid pretty quick."

Hmmm. I hadn't thought of that before. Rebound? Is it possible? She seemed into me before they even broke up. No. She definitely wants me.

"Or have you gotten laid _already_?" Gar gives me the eye. It's the look that says, "Fess up, Cullen."

"No," I can't control the smile that automatically appears on my face as I think of the things I have done with Bella.

Garrett has known me long enough and he sees right through me. "So what are you _not _telling me? I know that face."

"She gave me a blowjob last night," I whisper towards his ear so that his dad can't hear me.

Garrett turns in his seat to face me. His dad is fortunately very into the game, but Gar gets quiet nonetheless, "Shit! What the fuck? I've been seeing Lauren for like three weeks and I can barely get her to touch my dick. I guess I need an older woman."

"You're dating Lauren?" He catches me by surprise.

"_Fuck_. I was gonna tell you. Yeah. I am. You don't care do you?" I glance down at the picture of Bella on my phone. She's so fucking hot.

"Nope. Lauren's all yours."

_**A/N**_**: Could I maybe, pretty please get some love in the form of reviews? *Gets on knees and begs***

**Starting next week, I probably will be posting on Sundays. I started a new job on Monday. Work always gets in the way of all my fun. My older child starts Kindergarten on Monday. Eeek! My life is hectic right now. **

**Kisses from the Red Kat. See you next week!**


	9. Chapter 9

_**I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

I hate Halloween. No, seriously. I _really_ hate Halloween. I didn't even like it when I was a kid. Every costume my mother ever put me in was hot and sweaty and itched too much. She even made be a mime one year. _A fucking mime!_ Not to mention, I don't really care for the shitty candy people hand out. Smarties and Skittles are not my idea of a good time. Middle School is by far the best time for Halloween. You're "too cool" to dress-up and go trick-or-treating, but you're not old enough to be invited to adult Halloween parties. You can just sit home and harass the children that come to your door begging for candy.

Now that I'm out of Middle School, I have only found one good reason to like Halloween. That reason being girls in slutty Halloween costumes. This particular holiday gives permission for teenage girls to wear lingerie to parties and claim it's a "costume." Guys, on the other hand, have limited options. What fifteen-year-old do you know that thinks it would be fun to dress as a pirate or Freddy Krueger? _None._ That's what I thought. High School Halloween parties are planned and carried out by teenage girls that want to dress like sluts for one night and get away with it. I'm not complaining. I'm simply saying…

"Bella, I'm not wearing a costume to Alice's party."

We're sitting in the parking lot of the grocery store. She, Emmett and I have just finished our weekly food supply trip, but before we were able to make it out of the lot, she spotted that stupid _Spirit Halloween_ Store that's in the adjacent building.

"_Puh-leeeeeeez,_ Edward. Everyone is dressing up and you'll look so hot." Why does she have to look at me with those puppy dog eyes? Why does she have to be so sweet and smart and perfect and fucking hot? I can't take the begging. I cave every time, especially when she's begging me to put my fingers inside her like she did last night on the sectional.

I want to strangle Alice right now, and Jasper, for that matter. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be in this near-_but probably won't get there because I do anything Bella asks_-argument. My internal struggle between maintaining my dignity and making Bella happy is waging on. Emmett, always the voice of reason, decides to share his two cents, "Maybe you could go as a nerd, Eddie. Oh, that's right. You wear that costume every day."

I scowl at him, "Well then, _Emmy_, maybe you could go as a midget since…"

"Boys!" Bella interjects, "Can we just go look around the store? I haven't been in there yet."

I must say, Spirit Halloween is a very interesting store. Aside from every costume imaginable, they have all sorts of props, like talking crypt keepers and zombie babies; and of course, they have the ever-popular sexy costumes. I hang out in this particular section for a little while. Every so often Bella glances my way and shakes her head at me. I hold up different costumes and raise my eyebrows to ask if that one is hers. She shakes her head, indicating I am wrong each time. Bella purchased her costume a few weeks ago, but she won't tell me what it is. She keeps telling me that it's a surprise, but I won't complain. The last time Bella got me a surprise, I was awarded a view of her perfect ass and I got a hand job. I love Bella's surprises.

Bella meets up with me just as I pull a "naughty nurse" costume from the rack. "How about I pretend I'm sick, you wear this, and we'll skip the party so you can stay home and take care of me?" She looks at the dress and blushes, "Or I could borrow my dad's scrubs." Blushing some more, her fingers run up the silky fabric and I can tell she's up to something. I just don't know what it is. Suddenly, she rips the costume from my hands and hangs it back up.

"How about I buy that sexy cop costume over there," she points with her chin, "and we'll get you an orange jumpsuit? You can be my prisoner," she waggles her eyebrows at me. Maybe I do like Halloween after all.

Out of nowhere, through the store, comes a loud piercing scream. Bella and I search with our eyes to find the source. A pre-teen girl is grasping at her chest and breathing deeply at the back of the store, "Emmett," she says in a flirty-cutesy voice, "I'm going to kill you." Bella and I immediately rush to the back of the store to find my mischievous prick of a brother. We see him there, standing next to the girl, laughing and holding a scary mask in his hands. "I can't believe you scared me like that, Em. You're so adorable."

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. I smack Em on the back of the head. "What did I do?" He yells. "Do you want to get us kicked out of this store, you little douche?" I half whisper, half shout. Bella smirks and shakes her head and asks the girl, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You're Bella Swan, aren't you?" My girl smiles and nods her head, "Yes. I am. Do you know Emmett? Because I'm in charge of him right now and I'll ground him if I have to." Bella puts her hands on her hips and strikes my favorite pose. The cute little blonde girl giggles, and then rolls her eyes, "Um yeah…I'm Em's girlfriend."

My head snaps towards Emmett and the little shit has his eyes cast down at the floor as he shuffles his feet nervously. I snort out loud, like _really _loud and Bella smacks my arm. Finally, Emmett gets the courage to look back up, "Rosalie, this is my neighbor, Bella and this dick-wad is my brother, Edward."

Neighbor, huh? Miss Rosalie doesn't know about Emmett's baby-sitter. I could certainly embarrass the hell out of him right now, but I decide against it. I can almost hear my mother's voice whisper to me, "Stop, Edward. He's your only brother. You need to take care of him."

"Nice to meet you both," Rosalie squeaks, "I better go find my mom. Bye Em. I'll call you later."

"See ya, doll." Emmett gives her a nod. She no sooner walks away and Bella and I are in hysterics. Emmett gives his best scowl and mutters, "I'll meet you outside." With a look somewhere in between pouting and sulking, my brother walks to toward the exit.

* * *

It's the Saturday before Halloween and I'm waiting for the arrival of my friends from home, Garrett and Tyler. They're coming with me to Alice's party tonight. I never did get a costume. Bella forgives me. What can I say? I made her come two times last night after the football game. She had no choice but to forgive me. I got another fantastic blow job, too. That girl. _Her mouth_. She's amazing. I managed to keep my eyes open throughout most of the blow job last night. Watching her mouth on me is officially my new favorite hobby.

Halloween will be our first official holiday without my mom. I think about how so much has changed in the short amount of time since she passed. It makes me wonder how we'll be able to get through the rest of our lives without her. Thanksgiving and Christmas are nearly upon us as well. This past summer, when things got really bad, I prayed and prayed for God to grant us one more Christmas with her. It never happened.

Last Sunday, Bella and I had taken our last trip to "our spot" at the state park. The weather is beginning to get colder and most of the leaves have fallen off the trees. We typically use our time together there to get to know one another better and, of course, make out. This last trip was difficult for me because Bella was asking a lot of questions about my mom. I kept trying to distract her with my kisses to her lips and to her neck and to that spot behind her ear that she loves so much. My attempts were in vain. She had her notebook that she writes in all of the time with her and was taking notes as I spoke. When she was somewhat distracted by my tongue on her collarbone, I snatched the notebook from her hands. She fought with me at first, giggling, and then just resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to give it back.

I glanced briefly through it and found a list of questions for me that Bella had created. She wanted to know how I felt moving here, what I thought the first time I met her, and how I handled my mother's illness. I answered everything with complete honesty. I have never found any reason to lie to her. Even after I told her everything, she was there willingly, smiling shyly, laughing and being…_Bella_.

When I looked at her, something happened inside of me that I couldn't explain. It was as if a light or a switch was turned on, and it felt a surge through my whole body. She was my comfort, my sanity, and …my hope. Maybe that makes me sound like a pussy, but I felt an intrinsic sense of hope with her in my world. She snatched the notebook back from me eventually and turned to the first page before hugging it to her chest. She bit down on her lower lip and looked as though there was something she wanted to tell me. Finally, she caved. She told me that she started writing in this notebook the first day she met me. I know that Bella journals often so I wasn't completely shocked to hear about it.

I told her that I didn't want to impose on her private thoughts and that she didn't need to share it with me. Bella responded that I should at least read the first page. So, I did.

_Today I met Edward Cullen, one of the boys I will be helping to take care of. I nearly fainted when he walked down the stairs without his shirt on. Love at first sight? Perhaps. One thing is for sure, he's so hot. Even though he's younger than me, I can see myself with him already. He seems a little shy, which is a complete turn-on. He has a sort of boyish charm to him. And he's smart. I can tell already that he's a good student. I just wonder if the police chief's daughter will be good enough for the handsome, intelligent son of a doctor. Time will tell._

She made me smile hard and feel so good on the inside. She took the pain away. In a sense, she replaced my mom, taking care of me, showering me with attention and adoring me.

Aside from the incessant questions, which truthfully I didn't mind answering, the day was fantastic. I couldn't have asked for better weather or better company. We talked a lot, getting to know each other even more, sharing stories and of course, answering questions. Bella, always with her questions. I took in and admired the little things that were easily overlooked, things about her that I wanted to absorb and memorize forever.

Things like the way she pressed her lips together and scrunched her nose when she was thinking, and the way she danced unconsciously whenever music she liked played on my MP3, or how she touched _everything_.

On the hike up the mountain, she was touching trees and fallen leaves and rocks and stones of interest. Once we found "our spot", she would slide her finger over the back of the bench or fiddle with the strap of the backpack. When I called her on it, she claimed it was keeping her hands preoccupied so that they weren't all over me. I grabbed both of her hands and slid them behind my neck, effectively ending that conversation.

Her eyes twinkled when I spoke about baseball, as if she was as enamored with the sport as I was. When she talked about her writing, she used her hands a lot, in large over-exaggerated movements. This was her passion. We were both passionate about different things, baseball and writing. We were both passionate about one common interest, each other.

* * *

Garrett and Tyler get to the house late in the afternoon. They both want to know if Bella has any blow job offering friends. They also want to know if Bella and I have gotten any further. The answer is no, of course, and besides, I don't want them thinking Bella is some kind of slut. I do, however, mention Jessica and Angela. There is no doubt they will be at the party tonight in Halloween slutwear.

Bella has been MIA since lunch. She claims she is getting ready and hanging out with Gianna, who is one of her more recent girl friends. I really like Gianna. She has a few AP courses with Bella and she is kind to her. She's not some party whore that smokes weed every night. She also has a boyfriend, Michael, who is a junior and is _not_ on the football team. He, instead, plays golf. I'm cool with that because there is no reason to be intimidated by his athletic abilities.

Michael is picking the three of us up at eight o'clock. We have plenty of time to hang out and just be ourselves. Emmett is also attending a Halloween party tonight at the Middle School. He, of course, is too cool to don a costume. Instead, he has opted for a nice polo and khakis. The opportunity presents itself, so I can't let it pass.

"Why do you look like such a pansy?" I ask him as he walks through the living room. Garrett and Tyler chuckle.

Always with the last word, Emmett responds, "because I've been subjected to you as a role model for the past twelve years."

"Okay, okay. Don't be a douche bag. Seriously, I've never seen you dressed like that except when Dad makes us go to church."

"Edward," he says sheepishly, "Can I talk to you upstairs, in private?"

I get up from the couch and follow him upstairs to his room. He glances in Dad's room along the way to make sure he's not listening. When we get to his bedroom, Emmett closes the door behind me. He's acting very odd, for Emmett. What could this possibly be about? Does he want to give me more sex advice? I might smack him.

"Two things," he begins, "First of all, I'm really nervous about tonight, Edward." I narrow my eyes at him, "Why?"

"Well, Rosalie is going to be my date. I think I want to kiss her, Edward."

I laugh. Really loud, I laugh. He scowls at me and yells, "Forget it asshole!"

"Come on, come on," I put my hands up in a defensive motion, "It's just you're always making fun of me about my lack of experience."

He flops down on his bed and covers his face with his hands, "I know. I've been a dick, but really Edward, I need your help."

I walk over to the bed and sit down next to him, not facing in his direction. He asks me questions from there, never looking at me and never taking his hands from his face. I answer them to the best of my ability. Even though he is the biggest pain in the ass, I'm happy to be there for him. That's what big brothers are for, right?

When I think he's finally finished, I ask, "What else?"

"That's all I guess."

"No," I say, "You said there were _two things_ you wanted to talk to me about. What was the second thing?"

"Oh. _That_. I'm not sure I sh-"

"Spit it out, Emmett. Don't play games. I'm busy here."

"Well, you're not going to want to hear this, but I think…I, um think Dad has been talking on the phone to Esme."

My heart stops. Is he saying what I think he's saying? My face burns with anger. "What do you mean, Emmett?"

"I heard him. Last night. I think she was trying to get him to go out with her. He kept telling her "no" and saying "It's too soon."

My worst fears are coming true. How could he? My mother has only been gone for three months. What an asshole! I stand up and stomp towards the door. Emmett's voice stops me. "Edward, don't. Please. It's not worth it. Nothing's going on for definite. Please don't be mad at him."

"Fine," I answer, leaving the room and slamming the door behind me.

Michael, Garrett, Tyler and I arrive at the party shortly after eight. Gianna and Bella are not here yet, but Jacob and the rest of the asshole brigade are. He eyes me, then whispers something to his boys and they all laugh. I honestly don't care. I'll be the brunt of all his jokes if it keeps him from talking badly about Bella. He can say all he wants about me. Just don't utter Bella's name, you fucking prick.

We have a few cups of beer and I'm getting a little buzzed. Finally, I see Bella walk into the room and I think I could quite possibly be drunk because there is no way that Bella is wearing what I think she's wearing. She spots me and her eyes twinkle as she makes her way over to me and the guys. The closer she gets, my questions are answered. No, I am not drunk and yes, she is wearing that.

Bella has on what could possibly be the hottest Halloween costume ever invented. It is a baseball uniform for all intents and purposes. However, I have never seen a baseball jersey so tight and so short. Her entire belly is bare and her tits are popping out of the top. She must have on one of those push-up bras on because I've seen Bella's tits multiple times. I've even held them in my hands and I've never seen them look this big. The pants sit low on her hips and are skin tight on her hips and her thighs and her ass. The uniform is white with red and blue stripes, but I could care less that it's not a Phillies uniform. To top it all off, her hair is pulled into a low ponytail and a baseball cap adorns her head. She is the hottest, sexiest thing I have ever laid eyes on.

I want to grab her hand and pull her into my lap. I want to put my hands all over her body and thank her for this small miracle. I want Jacob and every other fucker in this room to know that she is mine, but I have to play it cool. Jacob will go through the roof and Bella doesn't need to deal with him right now.

I tear my eyes away from her and find Garrett and Tyler ogling her. Garrett mouths to Tyler, "That's Bella" and then makes the universal sign for "blow job".

"Edward, can I talk to you for a minute?" She grabs my hand and tried to pull me up. "Come with me. I have to pee." Bella giggles. I recognize that giggle. She's drunk. I don't hesitate. I let her lead me up the stairs of Alice's house. We are abruptly stopped at the line for the bathroom. I'm not sure who the kid is in front of us but he's staring at Bella's tits like they're dessert. I quickly grab her by the hand and pull her behind me. _Asshole._

I turn around to face Bella and she smiles at me, "Someone's jeal-ous," she sings.

"What?" I glance back at the guy. "No. Me? I'm not jealous. I think someone's a drunk girl." I sing back at her. I stick my pointer finger into the front of her barely-there baseball jersey and pull her to me. I am not prepared for what happens next. Bella grabs me by the back of my neck and brings my face to hers, kissing me wildly. This is our first public display of affection. I didn't realize she was ready for this. My hand, that was just in her shirt, is now completely squished between our bodies. Bella doesn't stop kissing me, but she grabs both of my hands and places them on her ass. Someone starts whistling at us. Another person yells "Get a room!"

She pulls away from me slightly. Placing her wet lips to my ear, she whispers, "I wanna fuck you so bad."

Aaaaaaaaaaand…I'm hard. I take her hands from behind my neck and place them back down at her sides, "You need to slow down, beautiful. The people in this hallway don't need a show."

She covers her mouth and giggles some more. She is so drunk. "How are you drunk already," I ask, "You just got here."

Her eyes grow wide and she whispers, "Gianna and I raided her parent's liquor cabinet." So much for Gianna being a good influence on her. Instinctually, I take her hand and kiss the back of it. A girl from somewhere in the line behind us cries out, "Awwwwwwwww."

We're finally at the front of the line and Bella is doing what she calls the "pee-pee dance". I just roll my eyes and shake my head at her. Finally, _asshole _comes out of the bathroom. "It's all yours, Bella" he says without looking at me. "Thank you," she says and hugs him. She fucking hugs him. Then, she turns to me, tugging on my cheeks with her fingers, and says, "There it is. I wanted to see your jealous face again. It's fucking sexy." She's forgiven.

I am pleasantly surprised again when Bella drags me into the bathroom with her, locking the door behind us. She slides her arms around my waist from behind and rubs me, _there_. "I want _this_," she moans, "but first I _really_ have to pee." She walks over to the toilet and I watch her ass sway.

"I'll just turn ar-…_okay._" Before I can look away, Bella has already begun doing her business…_in front of me!_ Like I said, she's really drunk. I turn around because I don't need to see the wiping, too. At least my hard-on has disappeared.

The toilet flushes and I take it as my cue to turn around. Bella is at the sink washing her hands. "Do you have to go?" She looks up at me in the mirror. I shake my head no.

"But I want to see it, Edward. _Please._"

"Bella, trust me, you don't want to see it right now."

"Why? Oh wait, is it small?"

"What? No! It's not small…it just…"

Bella giggles, "Oh, I _know _it's not _small_, Edward. Every time I see it I wonder how it's going to fit inside of me."

A pounding on the door outside interrupts the conversation about my penis. "Are you two done in there? Some chick has to puke."

Bella's eyes grow wide. "I'll get rid of them," she says, going to the door and peeking her head out. "Listen, this bathroom is officially occupied. All of you will have to find someplace else to go."

I hear moans and groans coming from outside of the bathroom, but her little minions listen to every word she says. Bella locks the door again and stalks back over to the sink. She sits her ass on the edge of the vanity and hoists herself up. I can't help but stare at her perfect tits. She motions with her little finger, "Come here, Edward."

Once I get to her, she opens her legs to allow me to go between them. I gladly oblige. I place my hands on the vanity on either side of her ass. When my center reaches hers, we both moan at the same time. Bella wraps her legs around my waist, and my hard-on has officially returned.

"I want to fuck you so bad right now, Edward. But I don't want you to lose your virginity in a bathroom. You don't want to lose your virginity in a bathroom, right?"

"Um...no?" I answer because I'm not sure if it's a trick question or not.

"Good answer. I, however, do want to make you feel good and I _really _want those long, sexy fingers inside of me." She begins kissing me wildly again. She holds onto my face like she needs it to survive. Her mouth tastes like some type of hard liquor. It's sweet, just like her. I slide my hands down into the inside of the back her pants, which are fortunately stretchy. She hums in response. "Fingers, Edward."

I keep my left hand on her ass to hold her in place and remove my right hand from the back of her pants, sliding it back down the front. I twist it in the process so that I can get my fingers where they need to go. Bella lets go of me and scoots herself back, placing the palms of her hands behind her and her little white converse flat on the vanity. Her legs are now effectively spread in front of me. It gives me more room to slide my hand further down.

I recently discovered that Bella can handle two of my fingers inside of her so I don't hesitate to give her what she wants. She's so fucking wet. Like, _wet wet_. Like I've never felt her before, _wet_. She moans loudly as I make contact with her _other_ spot. I use my two fingers to rub her there, slowly at first. Her breathing becomes ragged and she licks her lips. Her eyes are squeezed shut. I recognize all of the signs. She's going to come already. Damn that was quick tonight. I brace myself on the vanity with my free hand and move a little faster inside her. She gasps and I feel her begin to tighten around my fingers.

"Ed-ward. _ Edward._" She moans my name as she comes gloriously before my eyes. I start to remove my fingers, but she quickly holds them to her. "Keep going," she breathes out.

_Keep going?_ I thought she was finished. She senses my hesitation. "I can…I can have another one I think." Well, this is new. She seems a little embarrassed to admit this. Her eyes are still closed tight.

"Fuck, Bella. You're amazing." I start pumping again sliding my fingers against her other spot. I use my thumb to rub her first spot, which I now refer to as her button. As soon as my thumb makes contact, her entire body goes into a spasm. She mutters incoherently. I hear my name and a couple of "fucks" and "gods", along with some other expletives.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." She says and finally moves my hand away. "I can't believe that just happened." She pauses. Her eyes finally open and she eyes me like a piece of candy, "Oh Edward. I owe you big time." She slides off the vanity and orders me to sit on the edge of the tub, but not before she undoes my pants. I slide them and my boxers down before I sit on the tub.

_Her mouth_. Damn, her mouth. It feels so good on me. Watching her come two times has me pretty worked up and I know I won't last long, especially if she-

She does. She puts the whole thing in her mouth and takes it as far down as she can. "Ungh" I moan out. Bella moans around me and the vibrations send me over the edge. I hold onto the edge of the tub, bracing myself for my orgasm. One more suck and two more strokes of her hand and I come into her mouth. My body convulses as I ride out my orgasm still in her mouth.

We clean ourselves up and head back downstairs. I hadn't thought about the repercussions that would be awaiting us there. Jacob stands at the bottom of the stairs. He laughs when he sees us, "Oh I see you're still carting around the children that you baby-sit for. I bet Edward here loves to have you as a baby-sitter. I bet he loves to pretend that he's your boyfriend."

"Edward _is _my boyfriend, Jake." She pokes her finger into his chest. "He can make me come like no one else. His fingers are like magic."

Oh God Bella, stop. My eyes shift from left to right. Everyone is staring. Please stop.

"And you know what else?" Oh no. Where is this going? "He has a big peen! I mean, _a really big peen_."

Oh no! She went there. Before I have a chance to beg her to stop, Jacob's fist connects with my jaw and I fall to the floor. I can faintly hear Bella's voice saying my name, but it's too late. I'm out.

_**A/N: If you haven't already, go check out my entry for the Dirty Talkin' Edward contest. It's on my page. Otherwise, please leave me some love on my review page. It would be so much appreciated. Kisses from the RedKat. See you next week!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to our queen, Ms. Meyer. Baseballward is mine.**_

_**Chapter Ten**_

Bloody lip? Check. Sore jaw? Check. Headache? Check. Bruised ego? Check. Father who isn't speaking to me and has grounded me from everything but baseball training, including Bella? Double-_fucking_-check.

After I became conscious again at Alice's Halloween party, Michael drove me, Bella, Garrett and Tyler back to my house. We initially thought it was a better alternative than going to the hospital and risking all of us being charged with underage drinking. It turns out, a citation was nothing compared to the wrath of Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He called everyone's parents, including Chief Swan. We're all grounded for insurmountable periods of time. Chief Swan went bat-shit crazy on Bella. I've never seen him so angry.

Garrett's mom came the next day to pick him and Tyler up and take them home. She was the most relaxed parent out of all of them. Maybe it was because she hadn't actually seen how shit-faced we all were the night before.

Luckily, I didn't need stitches. My face was a little swollen on the left side, but nothing a little ice couldn't take care of. Jacob also spilt my lip open. That looked particularly disgusting, but it also made me look kind of tough. As for Jake, _that coward_, he raced out of Alice's house immediately after he punched me, but not before he called Bella a "whore." Garrett and Tyler filled me in on that tidbit of information. I initially wanted to confront Bella about it and ask why she hadn't told me, but I eventually calmed down. I didn't want her to have to rehash the details. Once was enough.

I knew everyone at school was going to think I was a pussy, but in all reality, I didn't care. Most of these people meant nothing to me. They'd never be my friends. I wouldn't be here long enough. Besides, I really didn't want to get into a fist fight with Jacob. As Bella told me, "You're a lover, not a fighter, Edward." I laughed at her cliché, but I took pleasure in hearing her say it.

Even though I took a fist to the face, it still wasn't the worst part of that evening. Oh no. It was far from the worst. Everyone finding out that Bella and I were together, and that we'd obviously had sex in some capacity, thanks to Bella's "_peen_" comments. _That_ was the worst thing. To be honest, I was thrilled that everyone now knew Bella was mine. I just didn't want anyone thinking Bella was easy. Other than Emmett, I would never tell anyone about all of our exploits. Our private life is just that. _Private_. Not to mention, I've noticed a lot of girls checking out my junk when they think I'm not looking. Sorry ladies, this "big peen" is reserved for one mouth only.

Jasper has resorted to calling me the "stud" as rumors about the size of my dick run rampant through the school. Let's face it, when Bella Swan speaks, people listen.

"Dude, do you realize you could have any piece of ass in the entire school right now?" Jasper whispers to me at lunch one day once Bella is gone from view.

"There's only one piece of ass that I want though, Jas."

"Yeah yeah. I know. Your cock belongs to Bella." Jasper says in a much louder voice than the whisper tone he used just seconds ago. Jake coincidently walks by our table at that precise moment. I get the stink eye. Everyone else at our table laughs.

"None of you were laughing when I bloodied his mouth!" Jacob slams his fist down on the table. He glares at me. Everyone turns around to gawk.

"Mr. Black, you'll control your temper or I'll put a call into Coach." Mr. Banner's voice comes from behind us. Where the hell did he come from? I swear he's like a ninja. Jacob was lucky. There were no repercussions as a result of the punch. The principal had said there was nothing he could do since it didn't happen on school property. Everyone kept talking about how shitty that was and hat he had gotten off too easy. Honestly, I didn't even care. Jake simply did not exist in my world. He was invisible.

Before we could blink, the Thanksgiving break was upon us. I had very limited contact with Bella over the past few weeks. Charlie had grounded her until Christmas break, which doesn't start until December twentieth. She wasn't even allowed at our house except to do her necessary work for Dad. The rule, devised by both Charlie and Dad was simple yet harsh: Bella and I were never allowed in the house at the same time unsupervised. So, as soon as I got home from training, Bella had to leave. Dad was starting to trust me a little more with taking care of Emmett, although he didn't have much of a choice. We suspected that Charlie had caught wind of what Bella said prior to Jake punching me, hence the "hands-off" policy.

I, on the other hand, was off solitary confinement as of the Thanksgiving break. I suspected the only reason for that was because I had plans to go to Philly for the week, effectively taking me out of the Bella + Edward=debauchery equation.

We both missed out on the final few games of Lewisburg's football season. They made it to the state quarter-finals, where they lost in an upset to Danville 7-6. Jasper scored the only touchdown of the game. I had to hear about it from him on school on Monday. I was a little concerned what Jake would do to me now that football was over. Hopefully, I could get through the next month or so before baseball starts and he has another reason to behave.

Bella and I still talked on the phone every night and she still blew me kisses from her window. The nighttime air had turned considerably cold, however, so Bella no longer wore her tiny scraps of material to bed. Instead, she opted for fuzzy pajamas. It didn't matter because she still looked perfect. Besides, I had already memorized all of her lingerie and it remained part of my nightly fantasies.

I spent nearly the entire Thanksgiving break in Philly. The Sunday prior, Dad, Emmett and I took Pop out to celebrate the holiday at his favorite restaurant, _Elizabeth's_. Not only did he love the food, the restaurant shared my mother's name. This was Pop's first holiday without his daughter in forty-seven years. As much as I miss my mom, I wonder what it must be like for my grandfather to lose his only child. There would be no Thanksgiving dinner at the Cullen house this year. Four clueless men cooking, results in pizza delivery. It's hard to believe my mom had cooked her last turkey one year ago. None of us had any clue. It makes you realize you should never take anything for granted. It was shortly after the holiday last year that she was diagnosed. She hadn't even made it a year.

It felt good to be back in the city with my friends, but I felt as though I had left a piece of me back in Lewisburg. The effect this girl had on me was insurmountable. The guys harassed me incessantly about texting Bella, calling Bella, talking about Bella. They just didn't understand. She was my universe. I suppose Emmett this is the part where Emmett would tell me I was acting like a pussy.

He and Rosalie had "broken-up" shortly after Halloween. "Too many ladies, too little time," were Emmett's words when I questioned him about it, but behind his words I detected pain. The kid does have a heart, I guess. Then, just one week before Christmas, that theory was proven as I walked by his bedroom and heard him crying. Crying is an understatement actually. It was more like sobbing.

"Emmett," I whispered, choking back tears of my own when I entered his bedroom and found him sitting there on the floor, in hysterics. It was so unlike him. Emmett usually handled his pain with sarcasm and jokes. I don't think I saw him cry this hard when Mom died. "Em…what's wrong, bud?"

He very slowly lifted his hands to reveal a necklace that was entwined in his fingers. He was incapable of speaking.

"Mom's cameo? Where did you find this?" Dad has been searching for it since we moved here. It wasn't in the jewelry box with the rest of her things. It was possibly my mother's favorite piece of jewelry to wear. Emmett took a few deep breaths as I rubbed his back, willing him to calm down. When he was finally capable of forming words I became inconsolable as well. His words broke my heart.

Apparently, he had found it shoved way back in his dresser drawer wrapped in a velvet pouch along with a note, from our mother. She had left it there for him to find someday, sooner or later. He handed me the note. I choked back tears when I saw her handwriting. I started to read the it, but I was unable to finish. It was entirely too heartbreaking. My mother's words encouraging him to "remember" her when she was gone were jumping off the page at me. Then I realized something, if she had left this for Emmett, what had she left for me?

My brother must have had the same epiphany because we both jumped up at the precisely the same time and ran towards my bedroom. We scavenged through my dressers, ripping and tearing and throwing countless items to the floor. My father found us, "What in God's name are you two doing?" he yelled. As we both looked at him, worry spread across his face. We were visibly upset. Emmett showed him the note and the necklace. As he read it, tears welled in his eyes and upon us seeing our dad like that, Emmett and I became a crying mess yet again. Dad held us and sat us down on the bed next to him. We all held each other for a little while. It was the first time we truly grieved for her. It felt cathartic to just let all it all out. When all of our breathing finally slowed down and tears were wiped away, my father looked down at me, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's find it!"

The three of us tore through my bedroom, unable to find anything. I've never seen my father so frantic. We were all throwing things around so carelessly. At one point, we all looked at each other and started laughing. It was the perfect comic relief to our otherwise solemn morning. Just when I had nearly given up and decided that mom left Emmett the note because she had been more worried about him than me, I suddenly remembered something. All of my baseball paraphernalia from when I was a kid was in a tote in my closet. I had only opened the lid and peeked inside briefly when we first moved in.

"I know where it is," I told them, with solidarity in my voice. I walked and hopped my way over my belongings that were strewn across the floor and flung my closet door open. There, unmoved and untouched, was the big blue tote. I slid it out of the closet so I could see the contents better. I dug through countless Phillies tickets and programs and hats and photographs and baseball cards until finally my hand felt something little and velvety. I pulled it out. It was a similar pouch to the one Emmett had found in his room.

I held it up and my father and Emmett stared at it like it was the Holy Grail. Not hesitating, I pulled the pouch open and reached inside. The first thing my fingers found was a piece of paper identical to Emmett's note. I laid it down on the floor next to me for the moment. I reached my index finger and thumb in one more time and pulled out another necklace. This one was my mom's scapular. I don't necessarily remember my mom actually wearing it, but I remember it used to hang over the mirror of her dresser, dangling from its long chain.

"I bought that for her," Dad said so quietly it was barely audible, "for her college graduation. I had forgotten about it. I didn't even realize it was missing."

"Are you going to read your letter, Edward?"

I placed the folded-up note in my pocket. I couldn't take anymore heartbreak today. "Not today," I told them, "Maybe another day."

* * *

On December twentieth at exactly eight o'clock AM, my phone started buzzing from its spot on my nightstand. I knew who it was before I even looked. _Bella_. She was free at long last. We had made plans for her to take me and Emmett to the mall to buy Christmas presents. Dad had given each of us some money to spend on gifts. He said we needn't buy him anything, but Emmett and I decided we would.

My head was spinning over what to buy for Bella. I had a few ideas floating in my head, but nothing definitive. She deserved a well-thought out gift, not just something you grab because it's on sale or because it's available. She deserved the perfect gift. It would be difficult to buy her anything when she was physically with me. I guess we would have to separate at some point.

Dad ended up being pretty easy to buy for. The three of us pooled together and bought him an iPod docking station for his office and an iTunes card to go with it. Bella went off with Emmett to help him buy something for me, so I had some time to shop for the two of them. I started with Emmett first because he was the easier of the two. In the little sporting goods store I found an Eagles poster signed by several of the players. He'll love it. Now, onto Bella.

I searched through a couple of stores I knew that she liked, Bath & Body Works, Hollister, I even went into Victoria's Secret, but my palms started to sweat in that store. When the clerk asked me if I needed help, I squeaked out a "no thank you" and high tailed it out of there. I think there should be a men's section in there. Not like, you buy men's underwear there, but an area that men work in, and they help you find slutty outfits for your girl.

I ended up in the bookstore roaming around more confused than ever. At the back of the store, nearly hidden from my view, I found a table of journals. There were all different sizes and colors and pattern combinations. I found one that reminded me of Bella. It had all different shades of green swirled together and it was similar in size to the notebook she writes in. Bella loved green. One time she claimed she liked green because it was the color of my eyes. Then we made out on our bench in the park.

The woman behind the counter smiled at me as she rang me up. "Is this a gift for someone special, honey?"

"Um…yes."

"Well, how about I put in a box with a bow on it then?" She unfolded a perfectly-sized box and neatly laid the journal amongst some white tissue paper. The box was silver and white and she tied it with a wide red ribbon. I have to admit, it was a much better job than I could have done.

"Um… do you have any more of those boxes, like to buy?" I asked her. She showed me a display table of all different kinds of fancy boxes. As soon as I saw the little red one, I knew it was perfect for the other present I was giving Bella. I had to wait in line this time behind five people for a little box that cost three dollars and seventeen cents, but it was for my Bella so it was worth it. I no sooner left the store when Emmett texted me that they were having a soft pretzel in the Food Court and I should take my time. I had one more store I needed to purchase something from. I just hoped my nerves didn't get the best of me and that I would be able to make the purchase without freaking out. Our ride home was very quiet, no one wanting to give too many clues about the gifts we had just purchased for one another.

Four days later, it was Christmas Eve. I did my best to not think about my mother, but everything reminded me of her. Dad and I had gone to get a tree the other night. Charlie came along, too. In the city, everyone puts up artificial trees, but here in Lewisburg, apparently everyone chops down their own. Charlie helped me and Dad, while Bella stayed home with Em. They had already put their tree up last week. Bella decorated it, but I hadn't seen it yet. Charlie and Dad set up the tree in the house while Bella and I went through the boxes of ornaments. It made me sad to think that Mom had packed them away last winter not realizing she would never unpack them again. The thought made me sick. I learned one thing from my mother's death: Live life to the fullest. Any day could be your last.

I motioned to Bella to follow me into the kitchen. We no sooner got there when I pulled her into me and hugged her tight. She giggled, "What's gotten into you? _The Christmas Spirit or something_?"

"I want you, Bella." I whispered.

She giggled again, "I want you too, Edward."

"No. I mean I _want _you…tonight." The air around us became thick and Bella's breathing became deeper. I held her in my arms and looked down at her face. Her smile turned into a more serious look. It was lustful and wanting. I ran my fingers up and down her back, letting them tickle the small amount of skin that was peeking out between her shirt and her jeans. Her little palms that were placed firmly on my chest traveled up and around my neck. She tickled me there with her fingernails and my insides danced in anticipation.

After an eternity she finally spoke, "Uh…okay? Okay. H-How? Where?" I stifled her questioning with a kiss to her lips. It was soft and light and not urgent. It left me wanting for more. I pulled away momentarily and placed my forehead to hers, cupping her face in my hands.

"Your dad is working all night and my dad is working all night. You're supposed to stay here for dinner and help me decorate the tree." She was hanging on my every word. "Emmett locks himself in his room every night around ten." Bella pulled away and looked at me. Her eyes twinkled, "Okay" she whispered, "Do we need…do you need-"

The sound of a voice clearing made us both jump and turn around. "Bella, your dad is leaving. I thought you might want to say goodbye," my father's tone was serious and bit harsh.

"Yes, Sir" Bella squeaked and nearly ran from the room. My father looked me in the eyes and I looked back at him. He didn't need to say anything. I knew that look. It was a warning.

Bella made me and Emmett a delicious dinner. She really was a good cook. She said she had to learn when she was in Middle School to help her dad out. The Chief never cooked. We had homemade ravioli and meatballs and she made an antipasta that was delicious. I helped her make the garlic bread and the sauce. I had no idea what I was doing, but I just took cues from Bella. While she cooked, I snuck little kisses here and there. She almost seemed a little nervous, but it paled in comparison to what I was feeling right now. At least she had done this already. I mean, I had no idea what I was doing. I downloaded some free porn on my phone the other night, but somehow I don't think choking her with my dick or smacking her ass while I fucked her from behind was appropriate for my first time. Some guys my age might disagree with me.

I decided earlier in the night, it was time to fess up to my dad. He would be able to help me. I had promised him months ago that I would come to him when it was time. This was possibly the most embarrassing thing I've ever had to do. I must really want Bella badly. She had no idea the extremes I would go through for her.

I knocked on his bedroom door hesitantly and he told me to come in. He was getting ready for work. I had timed this perfectly. I'd lay it on him right before he had to leave so he wouldn't be able to drag it out.

"Dad, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah. Just make it quick. I have to leave soon."

I couldn't look him in the eye so I just stared down at his Banana Republic shoes and ran my fingers through my hair. "Um…remember that thing we talked about…before…and um…you told me…uh I promised to tell you…_when_ and if I needed it, but I don't…need it. I bought it already. I just need some…um advice?"

_Silence._ I couldn't figure what the silence signified so I looked up and my dad was staring at me like I had three heads. "Edward, I think you spoke more coherently when you were three. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Please don't be mad. I think…I think," Oh for God's sake just blurt it out, "I think Bella and I are going to have sex tonight." I say it so fast it almost sounds like just one word all slurred together

A huge smile spread across his face. Not quite the reaction that I was expecting. "You're happy about this? I thought you'd be mad."

"I wouldn't say I'm happy. I'm just pleased that you followed my advice and came to me first. I _was_ angry earlier when I caught you two in the kitchen. I could have been Charlie or even Emmett. You know how I feel about that."

"Yes. I know and I'm sorry."

Dad runs his fingers through his hair a couple of times and it is apparent who I have inherited this habit from. "Listen," he says, "I'm assuming Bella is not a virgin. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"But Charlie probably doesn't want to think about his little girl like that." He pauses and then looks me in the eye again after taking a deep breath, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yes. I know I am."

"Come sit down then." He sits on the bed and pats the spot next to him. "Looks like I'm going to be late for work." He smiles at me. Why is he so weird?

I sit down on the bed next to my dad. He's looking at me, but I can't face him yet. He knows I'm embarrassed so he goes easy on me. "I'm going to give you some advice. You don't need to say anything. Just nod your head so I know you comprehend what I'm saying. Okay?" Easy enough. I nod.

"Have you and Bella masturbated with each other?" _Oh shit!_ Here we go. Straight out the gate. I nod

"Have you made each other orgasm?" My face heats up. I nod. This is awful. It better be worth it.

"Have you engaged in any oral stimulation?" Why does he have to make it sound so clinical? I give him another nod.

"Okay then, it sounds like you have the right idea. If you really care about Bella, you'll see that her needs are taken care of first." More nodding. Oh God. I feel like that kid in "American Pie" when his dad starts talking to him about sex. Except, my dad is a little cooler.

"You have protection?" More nodding.

"You've been instructed in health class on how to correctly use it?"

"Mmm-hmm." I finally look up at him.

"You're going to have to make sure Bella is well-lubricated. Foreplay is the key to-"

"_Ooooooooo-kaaaaaaaay. _ I think we've covered everything, Dad. I'm good now." I stand up and flail my arms around nervously.

He laughs at me. "Well then, there are only a few ground rules I need you to follow. Number One, not in Charlie's house; Two, make sure your brother is asleep and the door is locked and: Three," He stands up and pats me on the back, "enjoy yourself."

I look him in the eye. He's smiling so I smile, too. A nervous chuckle escapes my lips.

"Make sure Bella sleeps in the guest room, got it?"

"Got it, Dad."

It's nine-thirty already. I help Bella unload the dishwasher. Emmett is watching "Elf" on the big screen. The tree is completely decorated from the presents underneath it all the way to the lighted Moravian star on the top. The three of us admired the tree from the window outside. We were extremely proud of our work. I placed Bella's journal under the tree for her to open tomorrow morning when everyone is here. My dad is going to make breakfast and Pop and Charlie are joining us. Her other gift is underneath my bed upstairs.

Bella grabs her coat from the back of the chair. Where does she think she's going? I didn't humiliate myself with my father for nothing.

"I'm going to go home real quick and um…shower." She scrunches her nose and cocks her head to the side. _Oh. _A shower. I internally smack my head. There's a novel thought, Edward. Of course you should shower.

"I'm going to shower, too…then. I guess."

"Please don't be nervous, Edward." She walks over to me and grabs me by my belt loops. "If you're not ready, we don't-"

"Oh no," I interrupt her, "This is happening."

She giggles and kisses my lips softly, "Don't go to bed without me, handsome." She winks and strolls away, doing that ass sway that I love so much. Shit. I'm almost ready to come in my pants right now. I know I won't last long. It will get better though. Practice makes perfect, right? I'll follow Dad's advice and take care of her needs first. I already had a plan as to how I was going to do that.

The shower relaxes me, calms my nerves. I jerk off one time to release some of the tension. I scrub myself with my Dior body wash that Bella loves the smell of. Then I scrub myself again. Then I wash my hair. Then I jerk off one more time just for good measure. After I get out of the shower and dry off, I brush my teeth. I assess myself in the mirror. The towel hangs loosely off my hips. I flex my muscles a little bit. Damn, I'm looking pretty good. All of that training is paying off. I ponder just wearing the towel for Bella's arrival. I could text her and tell her to come right upstairs. She could rip the towel off of me. _Nah_. Not a good idea. I brush my teeth again and rinse with Listerine. Garlic bread was not a good idea either.

Maybe I should put a dress shirt on. Bella loves when I dress up. She thinks ties are sexy. Then again, maybe not. I dismiss all of those ideas and just put on what I wear to bed every night, mesh shorts and an old t-shirt. No need to alert Emmett Cullen: Private Eye.

I watch the last half hour of "Elf" with Emmett in the family room.

"Where's Bella?" He asks just as Santa lands in Central Park on the big screen.

"She went home to get her things." I was starting to wonder what was taking her so long. Maybe she had changed her mind.

"She's staying over, then?" He asks without looking at me.

"Yep."

"So, are you two gonna fuck tonight or what?"

_Aaaaaaaaaand nothing gets past Emmett Cullen._

_**A/N: OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH Ladies. Sorry to leave you hanging there like that, but I need to keep you coming back for more. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter RedKat1976, you know, if you're into that social media stuff. See you all next week. Kisses from the RedKat!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_***Disclaimer: Everything to belongs to our queen, Ms. Meyer; Baseballward is mine.**_

_**Here's a little first time lemon we've all been waiting for. I hope it's worth it.**_

_**Chapter Eleven**_

"Oh, come on Eddie! You two are so obvious. That was the longest shower you have ever taken and…" he sniffs, "you're wearing cologne."

"Emmett, look, you're not supposed to know anything, per Dad's request. So just…I don't know…put your ear buds in and wait for Santa to come."

"He won't be the only one _coming_ tonight." He deadpans. Cocky little…

I hear Bella's footsteps pad through the foyer. "Listen. Do not ruin this for me! And when Dad's around, you don't know anything. Understood?" I whisper and he puts his hands up in a defensive motion. Why did my brother have to be the world's most intuitive 12-year-old?

I catch a whiff of Bella's scent before I see her. She bends over the back of the couch and places a soft kiss on my lips. Her hair falls all around me, tickling my face in the process, and I think that I could possibly stay right here forever. The smell of her shampoo envelopes me, making me breathe her in. I savor the moment. Without hesitation, I reach for her and pull her over the back of the couch onto my lap. She screeches a little, followed by her sweet giggle. After I rearrange her into my lap, I look down to find her smiling at me. It's a knowing smile. I return the sentiment to her. She places a little kiss on the corner of my mouth. I take advantage of the opportunity and slide my hand behind her head, crashing my lips to hers and sucking her top lip in between mine. Her tongue slides its way past my lips and I accept it with my own. I've almost forgotten where we are until Emmett makes gagging noises from the other end of the sectional. I pull away from her slightly. She's breathing heavy.

"Goodnight Emmett." I groan without taking my eyes off Bella's mouth. She giggles a little more. We don't let his little interruption stop us, starting back up where we just left off. We're experts at making out on this couch by now. I am able to tune out the rest of the world and just focus on her lips and her tongue and how they feel against mine. I'm starting to get hard and I wonder if Bella and I will even make it out of the family room tonight.

Our little bubble is abruptly broken when we both sense Emmett standing in front of us and we are forced to look up at him.

"If this guy doesn't know how to satisfy ya," he thumbs at me, "ya know where to find me. Now, I'm just gonna go to bed and…" he uses air quotes, "wait for someone to come." I roll my eyes. His suggestive remark is not lost on Bella. Her eyes grow wide and questioning.

"Goodnight, Emmett." I repeat. _Now go away_. Once he is out of our line of vision, Bella looks at me with a little apprehension.

"Does he-" I quickly put my finger to her lips. "Shhhh…It's okay. My dad knows, too." Her eyes grow even bigger and she chokes.

"I promised I would tell him. I couldn't lie, not with _Judas_ upstairs." Bella squints her eyes at me.

I shake my head. "Never mind."

"Your dad's not…_mad_?"

"He's not thrilled, but he'd rather it happen here with his knowledge than someplace else. I also got a nice long speech about _safety_"

"Ah. I see," she says and taps her lips with her index finger, "and we're…uh…good to go, in the _safety_ department?"

I can't control the huge smile that spreads across my face. I nod. She smiles back and nods with me. Suddenly, I am so unsure of what I am doing. Everything seems so planned and contrived. Maybe we should have let it happen more naturally. Maybe she's not ready. Maybe I'm not ready. My dick says otherwise. As if she can read my mind, Bella cups my face in her hands. "You're second-guessing right now. Don't do that, Edward. It's perfect timing."

I trust in her words. She knows me so well, better than anyone else.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

I grin and nod. She sits up and eases herself off my lap. There's no point in even trying to hide the bulge in my shorts. She raises her eyebrows and tells me that she loves that she has that effect on me. I love that she does, too. Taking my left hand in her right, she pulls me up and guides me across the room and up the stairs. As we tiptoe past Emmett's room, I am relieved to hear his television on. That usually means he's in bed and well on his way to falling asleep. We may actually have some peace and quiet this evening. Who am I kidding? He'll probably be outside the room with a glass held between the door and his ear.

"I have a surprise for you." Bella tells me in her sexy voice. God, I love her surprises.

We're in my bedroom now with the door locked, of course. I have the small table lamp on. Though Bella looks a little nervous, she's glowing in the low light. I take pleasure out of knowing that I am the one that does this to her.

"I have a surprise for you, too." I hope I don't scare her with the little box. I think I might love this girl, but rings are not even on my radar.

"Okay. You first," she says. I can smell her lotion. She smells so good, fresh from her shower. It's how she always smells in the morning when she takes us to school. _Great_, now I'll get a hard-on every morning on the way there. Shit! I hid the box under the bed right underneath where she is sitting. I hesitate. She watches me expectantly.

"Actually, it's between your legs." She gasps. "I mean…_God_, I mean under the bed." I face palm. "I need to get under your legs…er…under the bed." Emmett's right, I am a douche.

"You're cute when you're flustered, Edward Cullen." She teases me and her giggles have once again returned.

"Bella, when I take these shorts off, you are no longer allowed to use the word cute."

She giggles at me some more and scoots back on the bed, lifting her legs and her bare feet up. I love that I can make her laugh like that. I squat down in front of her and reach my arm under the bed in search of the little box. When my fingers find it, I grasp it and take a deep breath. Placing the box on the bed in front of her, I watch her face to see her reaction. Her eyes grow wide and she smiles a real smile, not the pretend kind. I can tell the difference with Bella.

"Go ahead, open it." I whisper in her ear. She cautiously removes the lid and pulls the black velvet pouch out. Her head quickly snaps in my direction, "Edward, you didn't have to do th-"

"Shhhhh…it's not what you think." Her eyes study me and indicate confusion, but she listens to me and reaches inside the pouch. Her fingers find the necklace and she gently pulls it out, looking at it in awe. _Score!_ I've left her speechless.

"It was my mom's. I want you to have it." I tear up a little because I'm a pussy and all. Her eyes mimic mine. Damn. I didn't intend for this moment to be so emotional. All I wanted her to do was get excited and throw herself at me. Soon after, she does, tackles me right down to the bed in fact. I laugh and hold her in my arms.

"You really want to get laid, don't you, Edward?" I nod my head. "This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." Her eyes tear up again so I try to distract her a little.

"Here, let me put it over your head." She ducks her head down. "It's called a scapular. My dad bought it for my mom years ago."

"I love it." Bella holds the piece in her hands and inspects it. "It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful."

Her head snaps up and our eyes lock and it's as if there is nothing else, just me and her. I forget that we're in my room at my father's house or that Emmett is a few doors down or that anyone else even exists. I can't pass up this moment. So, I kiss her, lightly at first, but it becomes deeper and deeper and I lose myself in her for the second time tonight. Before I know it, we're lying side by side, holding onto each other and making each other feel good.

"I'm ready, Bella." She nods her head and places her hand underneath my t-shirt, tickling me right above the waistband of my shorts. My heart beats frantically in my chest. I've seen this girl naked. My dick has been her mouth. I have no idea why I'm so nervous.

"Let's just play around a little bit first. You know, ease into it." She tells me using her seductive voice that I hope is reserved only for me.

"You mean like foreplay?" And once again brain-to-mouth- filter is malfunctioning. Bella seems amused by my response.

"If that's what you want to call it. Here," she rolls over and stands. Where is she going? "We need to just stop discussing everything and just do what comes naturally." _Right_. So where is she going?

"I know what will make you relax. Are you ready for your surprise, _Edward_?" She teases me.

Of course I'm ready. Doesn't she see the tent I'm pitching in my shorts? "Whenever you are, _Bella_." And finally we are both relaxed and back to ourselves again. She stands and takes a few steps away from the bed. While she's turned away from me, I take the opportunity to stare at her ass for the twentieth time today. Turning back around, she pulls her shirt over her head and throws it on my chair, revealing a red and silver lace bra. _Hmph_. She matches her present. "That's new." I comment. My voice is all husky. She nods her head, "So are these." Bella slowly guides her jeans down over her hips and legs and tosses them on the chair with her shirt. My girl is wearing the skimpiest panties I have ever seen her wear. They match the bra perfectly, of course.

"Are those…is that…a um-"

She turns around and looks over her shoulder at me, "A g-string? Yes, Edward."

Her ass. It's that perfect heart-shape. Will I ever come to realize what I have done to deserve this girl in my life? Will she ever know what she does to me, all the feelings she elicits? I can't wait any longer. My fears subside. I've been waiting months, possible years, for this exact moment. Everything is clear now. It's time. "Come here." I tell her. She moves up the bed and curls up next to me. I wrap her in my arms. She shivers a little. I move back the covers and we both climb under. We wrap ourselves up in each other this time. As I trace small circles over lower stomach, she breathes deeply into my chest. Her legs rub together as she seeks some kind of friction, and in doing so, rubs against my now fully grown erection.

"When did you buy this?" I ask as I trail my fingertips lightly over the lace on her bra. She squirms beneath my touch. "Um…a few weeks ago. I mean, I wasn't anticipating all _this_, but I thought I'd wear it for you, for Christmas."

"It's amazing. You're amazing" I capture her lips in mine before she has a chance to respond. We kiss and touch and kiss and touch and love one another with our mouths. The clothes begin to peel off, one at a time. Well, my clothes and her lingerie. We yank and pull at ourselves and each other until finally we are both bare and in each other's arms.

Her body shakes. "I'm nervous, too, you know?"

This surprises me. She seems like she's wanted to have sex with me for months. "You are?"

"Um…yes. I want your first time to be everything you expected." She sits up and faces me.

I reach up and lightly caress her left breast. "It's with you, Bella. It already is everything I expected."

She stops my hand and places it over directly over her heart, "Do you feel the affect you have on me? Things aren't going to go the best they possibly can, but it's with each other. So, that makes it perfect." I lean forward to kiss her sweet, sweet mouth and instantaneously my nerves calm. However, there is another part of my body that is not calm. Bella rubs me _there_. "See," she breaks away from the kiss, "all better." I nod and will her to remove her hand before I spontaneously combust.

I'm done talking and evidently so is Bella. From this point on, we both just do what comes naturally to us. I take care of her first, working her over with my "magic fingers". Her words, not mine. I can tell she's getting close by the way her mouth parts and her breaths increase and her eyes squeeze close. I want to taste her so bad. I roll her over on her back and slide down between her legs. When Bella realizes what I'm about to do, she tenses. I look up into her eyes. She questions me without saying a word. I know that expression by now. My Bella. Always questioning. I don't speak either. I reassure her with my eyes that I am ready for this. Without words needed, she opens her legs to me and weaves her fingers into my hair.

I have no idea what I'm doing, but I decided earlier in the day that if I know where to put my fingers to make her feel good, then I just need to put my tongue there, too. So, I do. Apparently, my plan of attack works. The tip of my tongue no sooner flicks across her button when she whimpers and tugs tightly on mymontl away from yhher nippleeat hair. I keep my tongue there, moving it against her softly and I slide my fingers inside. She's so wet. I move them inside her slowly and lightly. Her moans become more frequent. I look up at her to make sure this is okay.

"_God._ Keep Going." Bella mewls loudly and tugs on my hair. Her little body tightens and I can feel it, _there,_ with my tongue which urges me on. I press a little harder with my tongue and move my fingers a little quicker. After a few more times, she explodes. I hold her by her hips as I continue my assault on her with my mouth. My name falls from her lips over and over again as she rides it out. Her fingers have been moved from my hair to the sheets. She pulls on them as her hips thrust up. Just when I think she's finished, Bella whispers, "Fingers, Edward. Keep them inside. You know? Like before. _Keep going_." I hold her hip with my left hand and curl my fingers up inside her with my right. She comes again. This time, it's a little quicker. Her body convulses as she whimpers incoherently.

"Please Edward, I need you now. _Please._" Her hands remain in my hair as I move up to her and lie between her legs. Then, I remember.

"I need to get the condoms." Bella nods in agreement.

I practiced several times over the past few days so I feel confident putting one on. Once I'm back between her legs, Bella reaches in between our bodies and guides me inside of her. I have no words for what it feels like. Her body welcomes me in as I push slowly as far as I can. I hold still for a while. My forehead is against hers as we both breathe into each other, our mouths nearly touching. Bella places her little hands on my face gently. We stare into each other's eyes and she whispers one word, "_Move._"

If it's possible, Bella draws me even closer to her, squeezing my arms. Taking a deep breath, I slide into her slowly and bring my hand to thread with hers. I struggle to keep my eyes open because I want so desperately to look into hers. I want to see her reaction to me pulsing inside of her. However, the feeling of her tightening around me and the warmth inside her are just too much. I easily glide across her soft skin and she takes me in as far as her little body will allow me to. She breathes heavily in my ear. I concentrate on her breaths, trying to stave off the intense pressure that is building inside of me.

"Edward, you feel so good, _so good_." She whimpers a little and lifts her hips slightly off the bed, taking me even deeper. The enormity of what we are doing suddenly strikes me and I am unsure whether I can maintain control. I begin to feel a tingly sensation building quickly and it makes me ache, needing a release. The tingling is unlike anything I have ever felt before, but I recognize what it is none the less. It rushes forward deep in my stomach and I try to fight it off. I freeze, unmoving, concentrating on anything but the feeling of being inside of her. She pushes against me and I moan, _loudly_.

"Please, Bella…" I beg, "Don't move." Our bodies are slick with sweat and I place my forehead against hers. Though our lips are barely touching, it's as if I can feel her breath inside of me. "I don't want to come already." I explain and Bella nods in understanding. I wait patiently for the feeling to fade. I fight for control and take another deep breath. Seconds pass as Bella lightly scratches my back with her fingernails, calming me down.

When I finally feel like I can begin again, I move my hips slowly. It's instinctual. I know what to do. Her body knows what to do. I move inside her over and over, feeling her body squeeze mine. Little moans spill from her lips as she continues to rub her fingernails lightly up and down my back. I take one of her hands in mine and whisper to her, "Oh my God, this is…this is…." I can't seem to form a coherent thought. She feels so good. _Too good_. She feels… "_perfect._" I finally finish my statement.

I rock my hips into her over and over. Her hands are everywhere, in my hair, scratching at my back, gripping my shoulders. As time passes, the push and pull of movement is more than I can handle. I give into the surge this time because I have no choice. I cannot hold out any longer. Tiny sparks of light fly around underneath my eye lids. I have to let go, and so I do. "Ungh…_God…Fuck!" _comes spewing out of my mouth uncontrollably as my body jerks with my release. Bella holds me to her as I come…_hard_. Our bodies are both slick with sweat and I shake in her arms, beneath her touch. It takes a few moments for me to come back down to earth. I experience a combination of feelings all at the same time, but the most prominent is a feeling of never wanting this to stop.

Both of us are breathing heavily as I collapse onto her chest. She runs her fingers through my hair. Her touch is the closest thing to heaven I have ever experienced. We lie like this for an infinite amount of time, catching our breaths and coming back down from the orgasmic high. Cradling me to her, Bella whispers to me in the dark… "_Perfect_."

Eventually, Bella and I become a little cold. We change into warmer clothes and snuggle in my bed. Bella has set the alarm on her phone to go off thirty minutes before my dad is due to get home. I don't want my time with her to end so I fight sleep just so I can enjoy this moment as long as possible. I haven't been able to wipe the smile off of my face all night. I'm not a virgin anymore. More importantly, I lost my virginity to Bella Swan. As much as I would like to shout it from the rooftops, I know I won't tell anyone. Well, maybe Garrett.

Bella stirs and finds me looking down at her. She smiles back at me and stretches a little, "Hi there, handsome." I kiss her sweet, sweet lips and return the sentiment. "Hello, beautiful." One chaste kiss turns into two, which turns into three, which turns into more making out and touching. So, we decide to give it another go. Why not? I don't know when I'll get the chance to have Bella in my bed again. The second time is even better than the first. I can hardly wait for the third.

Eventually, Bella and I realize our perfect evening must come to an end. I walk her to the guest room door, stealing one more kiss right before I hear mechanical sound of the garage door opening. "Merry Christmas, Bella." She peeks her head out the door one last time, "Merry Christmas, Edward."

When I return to my bedroom, I close the door and sneak back into bed before Dad gets upstairs. I lie down on the side which Bella was on just moments before. I can still smell her and feel her warmth. I run my hand under the pillow and something sharp pokes me. It's one of Bella's diamond earrings. I doubt it's real, but it's delicate and pretty, just like her. It must have fallen out when we were- Thoughts of our night flash through my mind, touching her and pleasing her, the feeling of being inside her, hearing my name fall from her lips as she came undone.

I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I kept the earring as a little souvenir. A reminder tomorrow morning and mornings to come of what we shared tonight. I light tap at my door startles me. I palm the tiny earring and shove my hand underneath my pillow. Dad enters my room. I sit up a little and we stare at each other for a moment. I know what he wants to ask me. I just really hope that he doesn't. "Just checking on you. Was everything okay tonight?"

"Yeah, Dad. It was perfect."

Christmas morning goes off without a hitch. We all exchange presents in the family room, even Charlie. He loves the new fishing pole that Bella bought for him. "Open my gift next, Edward," Bella says shyly as she places a long skinny box in my lap, "Here." I lean back and reach under the tree to collect Bella's present. When I hand it to her, she makes a pouty face and mouths so that only I can hear her. "You already gave me something,"

"Two things, _actually_." I mouth back at her and she blushes. "Come on, open it."

She unties the ribbon from the box, "Very fancy wrapping, _Edward_."

"Yes. It reminds me of the package I unwrapped last night, _Bella._" She blushes again and throws the ribbon at me, then finishes un-wrapping her gift. "Edward, this is beautiful." She holds up the journal for everyone to see. "It's perfect. Thank you." I can tell that her hands are itching to touch me, but she keeps them wrapped around the journal. "Now open yours."

My gift from Bella is very light. I have no idea what it could be. I rip into the paper, not quite as gracefully as Bella did, and take the lid off. Inside the box are two tickets. I pull them out so I can inspect them further. "Tickets to the Baseball Hall of Fame?" I look at her and she nods cautiously. "Look closer, they're actually to go see the induction this year at the end of July."

I'm stunned, like _out of body experience_ stunned. I stare at the tickets and then at Bella and then back down at the tickets. Does she want to go with me, too?

Her meek little voice breaks me out of my stupor, "Do you want to go? I mean…maybe I should have asked you first…I th-"

"Bella, this is awesome. It's the best gift you could have given me. Thank you. Are you…going to…come with me?" She bites her lip and nods. _Definitely the best gift ever_.

After we have breakfast, Emmett and I help Dad clean up the kitchen while Bella and Charlie entertain Pop in the family room. I find Bella in the corner chair next to the tree, pen in hand, writing in her new green journal. I stalk over to her and her eyes gaze up into mine.

"Whatcha writing about already, beautiful girl?"

She hugs the journal to her at first, then after a few seconds of thinking, releases her grip and opens it to me.

"Just jotting down some feelings that I never want to forget." She smiles cautiously. I think I can feel her heart beating out of her chest. I position myself next to her so that I can read her words.

_It's only been a few hours, but I'm already longing for that connection. I crave that look of innocence and wonder in his eyes when he's inside me. I need it like I need air. He is my breath, and my heart and my life. He makes me feel so special, like I'm the only girl on earth. My feelings for this boy run so deep. I think, for the first time, I may even be in love._

As much as I want to, I can't look at her. I can't tear my eyes away from the page. I read it over and over and over again. All of her words are profound and they turn my world upside down, but there are only two words that imprint onto my brain, into my heart. They tell me everything I've been waiting for and so much more.

_In love._

_**Well? How about some reviews my beautiful readers? I've added a little SH Playlist to my profile, just in case you enjoy a little soundtrack action. As always, kisses from the RedKat. See you next week!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight; I only own these two horny teenagers.**_

**_Chapter Twelve_**

My brother's birthday always creeps up on us quickly. I actually feel sorry for the little shit. Having a birthday two days after Christmas certainly has its disadvantages, namely everyone forgets about it. Bella insisted on taking him shopping for clothes as a gift. She enjoys dressing him up for some reason and then, tonight she's going to make dinner for the entire family, including Pop. He and Bella have become quite close over the holiday break. She makes him laugh and he makes her blush. I just wish I had a little insight as to what they were talking about.

We ordered Emmett a cake from Keely's bakery, chocolate with peanut butter icing, his favorite. The bakery is located two doors down from the flower shop, so while Dad pays for the cake, I pick up another bouquet of pink roses for my beautiful girl. Dad sees the bouquet sitting on my lap as he places the cake in the back seat of the Range Rover. He eyes them suspiciously. "I'm assuming those aren't for your brother." He glances down at the flowers and then back up at me. It's hard to believe there was a time when Bella thought we could hide this from him.

Dad hasn't said another word to me about Christmas Eve or what transpired in my bedroom, though Bella suspects he may have filled Charlie in on our sexual encounter. Out of the blue, the chief decided to sit Bella down to have the "birds and the bees" lecture with her. The chief actually got wigged out before Bella even did. The conversation ended up consisting of Charlie advising Bella not to have sex in a car because he didn't want one of his patrol men finding her in a compromising position. He then made Bella promise to never come home pregnant. That was it, end of story.

_Santa_ left me a box of condoms on the vanity in my bathroom with a note that read, "Just because I'm giving you a box of these doesn't mean I want you to use all of them. Be safe." If I had my way, I would use each and every one of them before we go back to school. The truth is I have no idea when Bella and I will ever be alone again with the opportunity to do so. For now, jacking off to visions of Bella in my bed, beneath me, writhing in pleasure will have to do.

And oh, what memories I have. I'm pretty sure the look on Bella's face while I was inside her is permanently etched into my frontal lobe. The first time we had sex was momentous to say the least, but the second time, _oh the second time_. That was complete unadulterated pleasure. Okay, who am I kidding? It was _fucking_, pure and simple. I even lasted longer the second go around due to the fact that I had already come once, not to mention, we skipped the foreplay and just went for it. Neither of us held back on the subsequent romp. Bella pulled her legs into her chest, which allowed me to go much deeper. I started out slow again, feeling every inch of her squeezing against me as I moved in and out. Bella met me with every thrust, moving her hips in time with mine, all the while whispering dirty things in my ear about how good I made her feel and how deep I was. Eventually, I sped up my movements and she continued to match me, thrust for thrust. This time it was so hot and just…I don't know…_raw_. She wasn't able to come with me inside of her again though, but she claimed it felt good to her nonetheless. According to Bella, having an orgasm with Jacob never happened either. This reason, though not the only one, has made me more determined than ever for her to come while I'm inside her. I plan on doing some research on that. Maybe Dad has some books in his office.

Sometimes I think it's fantastic that Bella has had so much experience. She already had her practice sessions on Mike and Jake and God knows who else, and this fact allows her to know exactly what to do to make me feel good. Other times, my jealous side comes out and it bothers the hell out of me that she did those things with them. Either way, what's done is done, so I try not to think about her being with anyone else. I'll try to just enjoy her little tricks she knows and, _let me tell you_, that little girl is _tricky_.

"Edward, did you hear me?" My dad's voice startles me out of my Bella-induced stupor. "Where were you just now? In Bella-la-la land?"

"Huh? _Yeah_…I mean no…um…I-I was just _thinking_." Running my hands through my hair, I sigh rather loudly, blowing air out of my mouth.

"Mmm…hmm. I know that look on your face." His eyes glance from my face down to the pink roses that lie in my lap as the Range Rover comes to a complete stop at the red light. He's smirking at me and I can't help but chuckle a little. There's no denying it. Who am I trying to fool? My father resumes his questioning. "So, things went well, I'm assuming." I nod my head. "You're not thinking you made a mistake or anything?"

"God no!" I respond vehemently. He chuckles. It's so odd to me that I talk to my father about sex. Do other guys my age do this? "Dad, I can't believe you're okay with all of this. It's not like…I don't know…weird for you? Aren't you supposed to tell me to wait until I'm married or something?"

His laughter fills the SUV. "Edward, parents who believe their teenage children aren't having sex are one of two things, naïve or in denial. That's why I had the talk with Charlie." I cringe at the thought of Dad discussing Bella's sex life with her father. "He needed to know what was going on. For some reason, he respects my opinion and I was able to make him see the light. Not to mention, he really likes you, Edward. He thinks you're good for Bella." Well, that's news.

"I really like Bella, too. It's reassuring that the two of you care about each other, so I look at it this way, I'd much rather my son lose his virginity to a nice girl like Bella than some skanky ho that sleeps with everyone."

"Did you seriously just say 'skanky ho', Dad?"

"Yes, Edward. Yes, I did." He laughs and I roll my eyes. I'm willing to bet he learned that phrase from Emmett.

* * *

Later that evening, we're all stuffed from too much cake and ice cream. Bella rubs her little tummy and claims to feel "bloated". I don't see it. Her stomach looks perfectly flat to me. Something that goes along with having a girlfriend and being intimate, you learn all about their menstrual cycles. I've learned things I didn't think I'd ever need to know. Bella has her period right now. When I gave her the roses earlier in the night, she threw her arms around my neck and whispered what she wanted to do to me with her mouth. When I questioned why she needed to use her mouth, I was informed she had gotten her period. _Downer._ Luckily that only comes once a month. Subsequently, I was informed that Bella gets her period for three to five days; her "heaviest" day is day two, which is tomorrow; she sometimes has cramps on day one; she's irregular so she may go on the pill; and last but not least, she reserves specific panties, _that are old and she doesn't care if she accidently bleeds on them_, for those times of the month. Oh, and did I mention she uses Tampax Pearl, whatever the hell that is?

Too much information? Perhaps, but the most important knowledge I gained from that conversation is that Bella may possibly go on the pill. Score one for me! I may continue to use condoms though, just as a back-up. I guess I'll have to ask Dad about that, too. On second thought, maybe I'll just Google it. I don't think I want my father knowing about Bella's menstruation.

Dad allowed Emmett to have a few friends over tonight. There are two other boys, Stephan and Liam, who have been here at the house before, and Rosalie. Evidently, she and Emmett are back on, for now. She brought her little friend, Maggie, with her so she wasn't the only girl. The five of them are watching a scary movie in the family room. Dad put Bella in charge of checking in on them from time to time.

"Edward," she whispers, "come here, you've got to see this." Bella is standing in the doorway to the family room as I load the dishwasher. Dad just left to take Pop home. "Look, Emmett has his arm around Rosalie. Isn't that cute?" I squint into the dark room to see Emmett sitting right in the corner of the sectional, his arm draped over Rosalie's shoulder.

"Yeah, real cute until the next time you look in there and he has that hand on her tit."

Bella smacks my arm playfully and giggles my favorite giggle.

"What? It's true. That kid is the horniest thirteen-year-old I've ever known."

Bella slides her hands over my waist and around my back until her arms are locked around me. "Mmmmm…" she breathes and raises her eyebrows, "hearing you say the word _tit_ gets me all excited. Do you maybe want to put _your _hands on _my _tits, _Edward_?" I love playful Bella. I kiss that spot right behind her ear that gets her going. She groans and it goes right through me, eliciting tingles where I love feeling tingly.

"Do you want to go make-out, _Bella_?" I think there's another couch available in the other room." Without hesitation, Bella pulls me with her into the front room and she makes good on her promise to thank me for the flowers…_using her mouth._

* * *

Everyone from school has been invited to a New Year's Eve party at Yorkie's house again. His parents have gone to Aruba this time. His dad is the local, and popular, plastic surgeon. As my father would say, "They have more money than God." Too bad they don't care enough about their kids to take them on trips with them. I don't mind going because I know Bella really wants to go, but I also have received confirmation from Jasper that Jake is going to be there. Other than school, I haven't been in his presence since the "punch heard 'round Lewisburg" and I'm in no hurry to either. I talked to both Jasper and Jared and they've both assured me they will be there and that they have my back. I know I can ignore him as long as he stays away from Bella. I'm sure lap girl Leah will be there so my chances are pretty good that he'll keep his distance. _Asshole._

Bella and I plan on sneaking out of the party around ten o'clock so we can have some time to ourselves. Bella says she wants to snuggle in my bed with me and watch the ball drop on my television. Bella in my bed is always a win-win situation so I agree to it. The Chief, as always is working. Emmett is staying over at Liam's house, so Dad has a free night. Instead of working overtime, he's going to a party…at _Esme's house._ The man deserves to have a little fun, but I'm glad there were be multiple people from the hospital there. I think Esme is trying to squirm her way into Dad's life, but so far, he's been denying access. Every time he mentions her name I either quickly change the subject or give him the stink-eye. I think he may be catching on to my diversions when it comes to Esme. She's a nice lady, but I'm not ready to accept another woman in my father's life right now. We have entirely too many other things going on.

This break from school has been so much more than I ever thought it could be. I don't ever want it to end. Unfortunately, we go back on the second of January. My only hope comes in the form of possible snow days, which pop-up during the months of January and February quite frequently in central Pennsylvania. The only reason I'm excited for the start of the spring semester is that baseball season is starting. Back in October, Dad paid a deposit for me to attend spring training at the Walt Disney World Sports Complex in Orlando with the rest of the Lewisburg Baseball team. It's the entire first week in February. I hate the idea of being away from Bella for that long period of time, but I also can't wait to stand on that pitcher's mound again.

There's something about the feel of my feet kicking the dirt, stepping up to the mound and knowing that the fate of each batter is in my hands. I live for the sound of my fist hitting my glove, the clank of the bat making contact with the ball and the air as it hits my face as I pitch the ball. Even better yet, is the high I get from sneaking from third base and creeping slowly, then taking off and sliding into home plate just as the opposing team realizes I am about to steal home plate from them. I love those things almost as much as I love the sound of Bella whispering dirty things in my ear, the look on her face as she comes and the way she lets me know how she feels about me without even saying a word. Yes, I will miss Bella when I'm in Florida, but I will be in my second-best happy place, the pitcher's mound, my first favorite place being inside of Bella. She and I decided that we can _Facetime_ each other while I'm away. I'm hoping she'll model some lingerie for me.

I do worry, however, if our relationship will be able to weather the storm which is baseball. I become a completely different person when I am in baseball mode. What is it that my mother used to call me? A "bear". Somehow, though starting at a new school, dealing with my mother's recent passing and the-on again, off again-relationship with Bella, I managed to pull a 4.0 GPA the first trimester of school. I've always been pretty good at academics without even trying. However, this year I faced many challenges, managing to come out on top. Bella likes to use the word "brainiac"; Emmett prefers calling me "a dictionary's wet dream." Whatever it is, I'm hoping to maintain it the rest of the year. After all, baseball will only get me so far with universities. I'll need the grades to seal the deal.

* * *

Bella looks sexier than hell tonight. We're on our way to Yorkie's and I haven't been able to take my eyes off of her since I walked through her front door twenty minutes ago. I'm having a hard time keeping my hands off of her as well. She side-glances over at me every once in a while, but never really taking her eyes off of the road as we travel over the slightly snow-covered streets of Lewisburg. Every time she catches me gawking at her, she giggles and asks, "What?"

"Nothing," I reply each time, but the last time she asks me, I trail my left hand from her knee, up the inside of her thigh, pushing her barely-there skirt up in the process. My fingers skim over her black tights and Bella groans, "Edward, I'm trying to drive with that leg. You're not making it easy on me," she teases.

"Yeah, well you're not making it easy on me in those shoes, or that skirt, or that top, or with your tits popping out and your ass looking um…_fucking_…I don't even know," I sputter and Bella giggles at me. "How exactly does my ass look, Edward?"

"_Fucking amazing_. I mean it always does, but tonight…I think I may want to bite it." I waggle my eyebrows at her as she pulls into Yorkie's driveway. A few kids from school are already heading into the house through the side entrance. Bella puts her mustang in park and turns it off. Leaning over the center console, she places her sweet mouth on mine and sighs, "Be a good boy tonight and I may let you." With that she's out of the car and walking away before I have time to regain my composure. She stands in front of the card and puts her hands on her little hips, perfecting my favorite pose and waiting for me there. I will my now semi-hard dick to calm down and slowly step out of the car. Please keep Jacob Black away from me tonight, I think to myself as I link my arm in Bella's and we walk to the door.

There aren't that many kids there when we first arrive. Jasper and Alice are nowhere to be seen. Neither are Michael and Gianna. They're probably all at home, fucking somewhere. At least Bella and I can get in and get out. Then, we'll have the entire rest of the evening alone to fuck all we want. Jared stops me in the kitchen and offers me a beer, which I willingly accept. Bella motions towards the kitchen island which has about twenty bottles of hard liquor atop it. I nod in understanding and continue talking to Jared as my girl makes herself a vodka and cranberry. She begins talking to Yorkie's girlfriend who is standing at the island with her.

I hand Jared a twenty dollar bill and he nods in appreciation, palming the twenty and placing in his pocket. His older brother provided most of the alcohol for the party tonight. Jared glances over at Bella and takes a long sip of his beer. "Cullen, I don't know how you convinced that girl to be your girlfriend, but _fuck _are you one lucky prick."

I laugh and stare at her, too. "I'm not sure how I convinced her either. I think she likes my personality." Just then, Bella glances over at me and our eyes lock. She blushes and then kindly excuses herself from Yorkie's girlfriend. I forget what her name is. Honestly, I've forgotten most girls' names. They are irrelevant to me at this point. Bella stalks over using her sexy walk and slides her free arm around my waist. She can't seem to wipe the smile off of her face as she sips from her cup.

"Edward here was just trying to explain what he's done to deserve you, Bella." Jared teases her and she giggles, "Well Jared, for one thing, he fucks like a champ."

I spit my beer out all over the floor and Bella giggles some more. "Shit!" I say and search for a towel to clean it up. "And…" she continues, "he's very subtle." It's Jared's turn to laugh at me and I shoot him daggers as I wipe beer off of my new shirt. Just then, I hear the dreaded words I'd been anticipating all night, "Jacob's here," one of his asshole friends yells to make sure I hear him. I look over at the door and, sure enough, the asshole is standing there with his lap girl in tow. Bella leeches onto me and Jared stands in front of me in a protective stance. Fortunately, the two of them quickly make their way out of the kitchen and out of our sight, but I know Bella and I cannot stay in the kitchen all night. Eventually, I will have to see his stupid face again.

The party drones on in typical Lewisburg High School style. Jasper, Alice, Bella and I are playing "flip cup" with six other people. Bella and Alice are terrible at this game. It's quite funny to me to see the two of them chugging beer, especially Alice. That girl really cannot handle her alcohol. Jasper just rolls his eyes and smiles at her. He says he's thankful they had sex before they came here because he knows she's going to pass out before midnight.

Around ten o'clock, the party is in full swing. There are so many people here that it is hard to move and there is no place to sit down. The only up side to the crowded house is that I haven't seen Jake in over an hour. I'm standing at the back door with Jasper while he smokes a cigarette. The girls left to use the bathroom some time ago and I am beginning to wonder where they may be. Bella stopped drinking immediately after our game of flip cup came to an end. She wants to sober up before driving home. I, on the other hand, am quite buzzed. I decide it's probably time for me to stop now, as well. I want to be able to enjoy sex with Bella tonight.

Suddenly, the girls appear out of nowhere from the side of the house. "There's our boys," Alice screeches. She is so wasted. Bella giggles at her. Alice grabs Jasper and Bella me as they yank us into the house. They're up to something. They giggle and drag us upstairs. "Where are you taking me, my beautiful girl?" I slur.

"You'll see," she says. We quickly walk through the upstairs of the huge Yorkie homestead, finally stopping at the last doorway. Bella grabs both of my hands. "Edward," she whispers, "how much do you trust me?"

"One hundred percent," I reply with confidence.

"Okay then, you'll trust what I want to do right now?" I look to Alice and Jasper. Alice looks like the cat that swallowed the canary. I nod my head and suddenly become nervous as to what my girl wants from me.

"Alice and I bought some pot. We want to smoke with you guys." I look at her questioningly. She knows I am not fond of this. "Don't be mad at me, okay? I just want to, just tonight, with you."

Jasper interjects, "Count me in," and Alice opens the door to what seems to be a guest room above the Yorkie's three car garage. I stand there still dumbfounded.

"Please, Edward," Bella whispers and rubs her tits up against me.

"Shit, Bella," I can't deny her anything, "Just tonight, right?"

She kisses my lips sweetly and rubs her tits on me some more, "For this, I will give you whatever you want tonight, Edward," and then she is dragging me into the room.

The four of us sit in somewhat of a circle on the floor. A single floor lamp is turned on. Apparently, Bella is the only experienced marijuana smoker in our quartet so she lights the joint with Jasper's lighter, taking two long drags before passing it to me. I remember how I did it that first time with Bella in her kitchen many months ago. I follow her lead, as always, and take two hits and pass the joint to Jasper. We continue in this manner until we are all sky high and the joint is extinguished. I'm definitely higher than the first time I smoked up with Bella. The girls get a little silly and say things that don't really make any sense. Jasper and I decide this is the perfect time to discuss baseball and who we think will make the team. Bella and Alice are laughing inappropriately at everything we say, turning every statement into a sexual reference. I find this quite amusing as well. Jasper does not. Before I know it, Bella is crawling into my lap. She straddles me and runs her hands over my shoulders, pushing her fucking perky tits into my face. Her skirt is now hiked up around her waist, but I don't care if Jasper sees. He's the only guy I don't mind looking at Bella, mainly because I know he only has eyes for Alice.

"All this talk of baseball is making me horny, Edward," she groans into my ear and then grinds herself onto my dick.

"_Fuck, Bella,_" I moan and cup her perfect tights-covered ass in my hands. She wiggles around for a few seconds deliberately grinding and bouncing into my crotch.

"Mmmm. I like this," she whispers, her eyes gleaming.

With my hands on her hips, I pull her closer and kiss that spot behind her ear. The effect of the marijuana makes everything feel so much better. Bella takes my lip between hers and they feel so soft, literally like I'm kissing pillows, making me want more of her. I hiss as she shifts herself on me. I look over Bella's shoulder to find Jasper and Alice dry humping on the bed, "_Fuck_. We should probably get going," I mutter.

Before Bella removes herself from my dick, she grinds herself on me one more time. "Maybe we should fuck like this," she whispers in my ear. Her breath is hot in my ear and makes me shiver. My breathing hitches and Bella's eyes become hooded. I nod emphatically. Our relationship is out in the open now, on display for everyone to see. But when I am inside of her, it's just me and Bella, intense and aching for one another. And when I am inside her, everything else disappears from existence, leaving me with nothing else but this girl who I would die for.

Bella looks intensely at me. Her look says it all. I know this face well now. It's her "I want to have sex" face. I am positive my face says the same. I. Am. So. Fucking. _Hard._

"Let's go," she breathes, sliding her body from mine and standing up on her feet. I follow behind her and whisper over to Jasper that we are leaving and will lock the door behind us. His lips never move from Alice's. He simply gives me a "thumbs up."

* * *

We are back at my house and in my bed in no time, neither of us wanting to prolong this anymore. Her fingers fly to the button of my pants, pulling them down my ass along with my boxers. I stand quickly to get them off, along with my shirt, while Bella rids herself of her own clothing. I kneel at her feet and take each shoe off, gliding my hands up her thighs to the top of her tights. She lifts her hips up and helps me pull them off. Standing up, she turns around so that I can unhook her bra for her. Letting it fall from her arms, I take both of her tits in my hands and rub them. They feel so good under my fingers. Bella moans when my fingers graze her nipples and hooks her thumbs into her panties. I help her slide them off and blatantly stare at her perfect, naked body while she sits back down on the bed and pulls her knees into her chest. My eyes flitter to hers and they are busy scanning my naked body. My heart feels like it is going to beat out of my chest, watching her want me like this. I climb onto the bed, submitting to the fierce pull of her drawing me down like a cord.

There is no foreplay other than my hands on her ass and her tits. We don't even need it. The thought of going through those initial steps doesn't even cross my mind. I just need to be inside of her and she tells me she needs the same.

I reach behind Bella for the condom I had already thrown there before we began our quest. Bella watches me with curiosity as I roll it on. Then, she pushes me back so that I am lying flat on my back and straddles my waist. As she hovers over me, I glide myself into her wetness. Her eyes shut when I slip in a few inches and then I guide her down until she is flush with hips. A heavy gush of air escapes our lips at the same. It's so much deeper and more intense this way. It is so much…_so good_.

"Um, Bella…does this hurt you? Please say it doesn't hurt you? It must feel good. Tell me it feels good…." I didn't think I would be able to stop if she said it was hurting.

Her eyes meet mine and she smiles a devilish grin, "_God…it feels sooooooo good. _It's like I can feel you…_everywhere_." I growl when I hear her words. Pressing my forehead against hers, I move upward with a gasp. Oh God, I was so far inside of her. Then my mouth was everywhere, my hips pushing up into her as we move together. The intensity is so much that Bella has to keep stopping every few seconds to regain her composure. She cries out, "Edward…it's so deep inside me…_fuck_. Ungh…_what is that right there_?" She pushes down and slightly forward. Each time she does it, her body quivers from the sensation and she moans an expletive.

"What is _what_?" I stop her hips momentarily, worried I am hurting her. I cup her ass in my hands. "Fuck…I love this ass." I squeeze it and then bury my face in her tits. _And I love your tits, too"_. She grinds on me once more, "Oh shit, and your pussy…."

"This…" she continues, "when I do this…" She carefully pushes forward and down again to demonstrate, closing her eyes and almost spazzing out when the sensation hits her again.

"I-I don't know…does it …um…does it hurt?" I sputter. I look up at her and a wry smile spreads across her face. "Oh, it's far from painful, Edward. I think it's that thing, _you know_." Her face blushes with embarrassment

"There-There's a thing?" I question, "What thing?" I have no idea what she is referring to.

"Um…I think it's my G-spot. You know, the thing that will make me come, and I think that if I keep riding you like this…_I will_."

"Oh my God, Bella. Shit! Keep moving." I move her hips back and forth on me and her body begins to spasm. "God, Bella. Please come. Come for me." I beg her.

Fuck, I wanted this so bad for her, for me. I slide my hands roughly back to her hips and push up into her with a groan at the same time I press her body down onto me. Her eyes flutter shut and I can tell she close. "Oh wow….Keep doing that. Keep going." She urges me on. I cannot deny her wishes.

She rides on top of me, faster and faster. I guide her hips over me again and again until I feel her whole body tense and seize, a crash of sensation waving through me down to my toes. She explodes around me, pulling me with her as I come gloriously with a few grunts. She slumps against me, both of us panting and sweating, neither of us saying anything. The air around us is thick and smells like hot sex.

"Oh my God," I murmur when I can finally speak. Bella throws her head back and giggles. "Edward, that was…_God_…I want to be on top all of the time." I laugh at her and pull her close to me. I don't let her know it, but I am absolutely elated on the inside, if not just a wee bit smug knowing that _no one_ had ever made her come like that.

"It's almost twelve, Bella. Should we put the countdown on TV?"

"Mmmmmmm," she sighs. After I cleaned up, we remained naked and in my bed, lying on our sides and facing each other. I stroke her hair, her face and Bella stares into my eyes, "If you want."

I grab my remote from the nightstand and find the station that shows New York City and the thousands of people there awaiting the gigantic crystal ball to drop down into Times Square. The clock ticking in the right hand corner of the screen shows there are two minutes and thirty-six seconds to go until the New Year. Bella and I shift around until I'm lying in her arms, with my head on her chest as she runs her fingers through my hair. It feels so good. The countdown begins…_ten_…I scoot up a little so that I am sitting next to Bella…_seven_…I lightly skim my fingers up the inside of her arm…_four_…Bella turns her head to me and our noses touch…_two_…_one_…our lips meet for the sweetest kiss imaginable. "Happy New Year, Edward," she whispers.

_"Happy New Year, Bella."_

**_A/N: When I started this story, I predicted that I would only be able to write 12 chapters. Well, here we are. As of right now, there is no end in sight! I hope you are still enjoying it. I know where it is going. I'm just not sure how many chapters it is going to take me to get there._**

**_I have to give a VERY, VERY, VERY special Thank You to Ana Rod. Not only did she rec this story on her blog, but she made me my very first banner, which I LOVE. It's "perfect". Please go check out her blog and my banner: twilightfanfictionrecsblog . blogspot 2013/09/stealing-home . html_**

TAKE AWAY SPACES BEFORE AND AFTER PERIODS.

**_Thanks again for reading. Kisses from the RedKat. See you next week!_**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer: Twilight and all of it's characters do not belong to me :(**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

Tomorrow is a big day for me. I am flying out of the Harrisburg Airport into Orlando-Sanford with the rest of the Lewisburg Baseball Team and our coaches. I've dreaded this trip just as much as I've looked forward to it. I'm leaving my first favorite thing in this world-_Bella_ for my second favorite thing in this world-_Baseball_. Ant trust me, baseball is a _very_ close second.

The start of the New Year has gone too quickly already and every day further into this year brings me one day closer to having to say goodbye and see Bella off to college. As much as I am so happy for her to start a future, I am unsure whether that future will include me.

I'm having a hard time admitting it, but Bella and I have been sort of on the outs lately. I don't know what happened exactly, but it started shortly after we went back to school after the winter break. Bella kept showing little signs of being pissed off at me for random things like going over to Jasper's to work on a group project with him and Alice, or working out at the field house after school with the guys, or catching me talking to Tanya Denali in the hallway after Geometry today. Don't get me wrong, Tanya is a pretty girl, but she has nothing on my Bella. She was simply asking me about baseball since her brother, Marcus plays. Marcus is a junior, and I don't really know him that well but I do know that he hangs with Jacob's crew.

"Oh come on, Edward. She was on you like a fly on shit!" Bella yells at me in the car on the way home. She's pissed.

"Tanya's not like that, Bella. She's a nice girl."

"Oh, now you're going to defend _her._ Well how nice of you, _Edward_."

God, this is so frustrating. Why are chicks like this? I scrub my hands over my face. I don't know what she wants me to say. So, I'll start with the truth since for some reason my brain doesn't allow me to lie…_ever._

"Fine!" I yell back causing Bella to flinch. "She asked me if I was still interested in being the pitcher. She said I would make a better pitcher than Jacob because I'm so much smarter than him."

Bella laughs, _like full-on belly laughs_, loudly and it reverberates through the car and through my bones. What the fuck is her problem?

"Seriously, Edward, I don't want you talking to her, okay?" She says to me like she's asking me to pass her the butter. Like always, my brain-to-mouth filter is not in working order and I say the stupidest fucking thing imaginable to her.

"Okay then, I'll stop talking to her when you stop talking to Riley." There, take that my jealous girl. I thought it would work. Really, in my head, before it came out, it sounded so good. I thought it would make her see my point, which was…um…which was…_oh hell_…I don't know what my point was supposed to be. Tit for tat? The only thing I know is that I didn't want to be arguing with her, especially over something so stupid. Bella did not take so kindly to my ultimatum.

"You know what, Edward?" She says very calmly and so condescendingly, "You are so immature and naïve sometimes. It drives me fucking nuts. This is why I usually date older guys." Her words sting. They cut me and they yank all of my uncertainties out and put them on display. She chose my one and only insecurity and shoved it in my face, hurting me in more ways than she could ever know.

* * *

An hour later, I'm holed up in my bedroom all alone. Bella hasn't even tried to come and talk to me. That girl is a stubborn little thing.

I don't even hear Bella leave when my father arrives home. She doesn't even say goodbye. Evidently, she is as pissed at me as I am at her. The most disconcerting thing is the realization that the fight we had earlier in her car is the last conversation we will have before I leave for an entire week. I toss and turn, sleep evading me for hours. Somewhere around midnight I trudge downstairs to see if there are any leftovers in the refrigerator. I hadn't even eaten dinner.

As I descend the steps and enter the foyer, I hear a whispered voice coming from the front room. The source of the voice hears me as well and comes to the doorway to greet me. It's my father and he's on his cell phone. He eyes me warily and then speaks into the phone.

"I'll have to let you go," he says quietly, "I'll see you next week." He pauses as the person on the other end says something in response.

Then using a very gentle tone, he finishes the conversation, "I will. _Goodnight._"

I stare at him. Who could he possibly be talking to at this time of night? I can reasonably assume it's not the hospital based on the tone he is using.

He pockets his cell phone, "Why are you still up, Edward? Are you nervous about your flight tomorrow?"

"No." I respond using a clipped tone. I turn on my heels and stalk towards the kitchen. I find some leftover roast beef in a container and help myself to some bread to make a lousy sandwich. My father hovers in the entryway to the kitchen. I sense him there but I don't give him the satisfaction of looking at him.

Eventually, he must get sick of waiting for me to acknowledge him, "Do you mind telling me why I came home to Bella crying tonight?"

"Do you mind telling me who the hell you were on the phone with?" I snap back at him and regret the words as soon as they fall from my lips. It's the second thing tonight that has roared from my mouth before I had the chance to edit myself. Anger washes across my father's face and he yells, not caring if he wakes a sleeping Emmett. "You will not take that tone with me, Edward! Ever! Eat your sandwich and then go to bed!"

I attempt to go past him, but he stands in my way so that I cannot get around. In a much more reserved and quieter tone, he continues. "I'll wake you up at six-thirty. We need to be at the High School by seven. I trust that you are packed?"

"Yes, sir." With my sandwich and paper towel in my hand, my father finally allows me to pass. I stomp my way out of the kitchen out of the kitchen, but not before my dad can get a few more words in.

"Edward, if you care for Bella as much as you say you do, you'd be wise to straighten out whatever mess you've made before you leave for Orlando."

"Who said I was the one who made the mess?" I respond defensively.

"You're a man, Edward. It's always our fault and you need to embrace that fact if you ever want a successful relationship."

I roll my eyes at him and continue my heavy treads up the stairs. Is he trying to be funny? Because it's not working. When I get back into my bedroom, I glance out my window and am relieved when I see Bella's bedroom light is turned on. I debate whether to call her or not as I finish my sandwich. Not even sitting to eat, I simply stand at the window and chew. After using the bathroom and brushing my teeth, I look back out the window and find that Bella's light has now been turned off. It's now or never.

It rings and rings and I am about to hang up before it goes to voicemail when Bella's sad little voice answers. Hearing her voice rips my heart to pieces, knowing that I was the one that did this to her.

"Bella…_God_…_Shit….I-I didn't-"_

At the same exact time I speak, Bella's tiny voice echoes through my phone, "I'm so sorry, Edward."

We both lightly chuckle at ourselves for talking at the same time. I can't believe I was so stubborn. Perhaps it is the stress of leaving tomorrow.

"I was stubborn." The words fall from lips so easily.

"I was selfish," she responds, "and yes, you were a stubborn ass."

"_Ass_?" I questions and snigger at her term of endearment for me.

"Don't laugh at me!" Bella whines into the phone. "I'm going to miss you, Edward. I know you won't have time to even think about me, but _I _will miss _you._"

I tell her I will, in fact, miss her too.

* * *

It's down pouring when we arrive in Orlando. The air is balmy and the rain does nothing to cool it off. It's nearly noon and apparently this is a common occurrence here this time of year, just a quick rain shower and then bam, the weather returns to cloud-free and warm.

Our bus drives us from the airport to the All Star Sports Resort on Disney property. We came here when I was eleven, but we stayed at a much more lavish resort. It seems odd to be here without my parents. It makes me feel more responsible, more mature. It reminds me of the trip that Bella and I are going on to Cooperstown this summer.

Jasper, Jared, Embry and I are sharing a hotel room. Jared's dad is one of the assistant coaches and he is staying in the room adjacent to ours with another one of the chaperones. Our rooms even connect with a single door. I don't know why they think we'll need so much supervision. As if we'll actually have time to get into any trouble.

I am irritated to learn that Jacob, Marcus, Paul and Sam are staying in the room on the other side of us. Embry insists this is a good opportunity for Jake and me to make amends. After all, we will be teammates for the next four to five months. I roll my eyes in disapproval of Embry's suggestion.

We barely have time to unpack and get settled before the bus will be picking us back up and then taking us to the training facility at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. I quickly text my dad and Emmett to let them know we arrived safely. Then, I tap out a simple text to Bella to let her know I am thinking about her.

*Getting out my baseball equipment and all I can think about is you in your Phillies panties ;)*

I get an immediate response from her.

*That's funny 'cause I'm wearing them right now ;) Miss you*

Shit. Now I'm hard.

*Miss you too*

We stretch and run drills. Coach Martz times us on sprints. This facility is awesome. I never dreamed I would get to play on turf like this. It makes me yearn to play in the big leagues and I wonder if that is written in my cards. I never really thought about playing professional baseball until this moment. It just has that much of an effect on me.

Coach Martz has me pitching later in the afternoon. Jacob has already had his chance to demonstrate his skills. As much as I hate to admit it, Jake is pretty good and I am not sure if I will be able to beat him out for the starting position. Especially since high school coaches are often inclined to start their seniors being that it is their last year. But Jacob is cocky and Coach seems to get easily irritated with his attitude. I try to be confident and listen to what Coach tells me to do. I'm just a little nervous since this is the first time that he is watching me.

The first three pitches, Coach clocks me at eighty-five miles per hour. I know I can do better. In fact, I have done much better most recently as two nights ago. I don't let myself get flustered. Assistant Coach Barnes pats me on the shoulder and I shake it off. Taking a deep breath, I step back up to the mound and wind up. I remember everything I've learned over the past few years and I let the ball fly from my hand. It whips from my grasp and whizzes through the air. _There, that's more like it. _

Coach Martz lets out a loud sigh, "There you go, my boy, ninety-one. That's the Edward Cullen I keep hearing about." His words give me the confidence that I need in this moment.

Jared claps for me and yells words of encouragement. Jacob sneers.

"I can do better, Coach." I reassure him and I step up to the mound to wind up once more. This time, I feel it. I mean I really feel it. I know as soon as the ball leaves my fingers it's a good one. No, it's a_ fuckawesome_ one. I learned that word from Emmett

"Thatta boy, Cullen! Woohoo!" I hear Coach shout and I smile fiercely. "Ninety-three, my son. Nice job." He pats me on the shoulder. "You see that, Black!"

I side-glance at Jacob as we pass each other during the exchange of positions. He glares and I smile. _Asshole._

The rest of the day goes perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better performance in front of Coach Martz. Jared and Jasper are convinced I'll be starting. I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch.

After a long, sweaty afternoon, we head into the locker room to clean up. I've been able to avoid Jake's negative comments all day, but I knew that it was only a matter of time before I experienced his wrath. He and his boys are on the other side of the lockers. They're talking very loud so that I can hear them. As if I don't know what they are trying to do. They are so transparent and just plain stupid.

"Hey guys," I hear Paul's voice first, "remember last year at this time, Jake confessed a big secret to us."

"Ouch, yes," Sam replies, "he was still hard after what Bella had let him do to her. How could I forget?"

Normally, I would be able to ignore their stupid antagonizing games, but the moment I hear Bella's name, my blood begins to boil and I see red.

"Oh," I hear Jamie next, "Do you mean how she let him pretend she was an ATM machine?"

They all start laughing and hollering. I don't even know what the hell they are talking about. The anger has me frozen right there in my spot in front of the lockers. _ATM machine_? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Deciding that I need to get the fuck out of there, I hurry to get dressed. They won't relent until the break me. They want me to react. Jake thinks he's so sly. It's going to take more antagonizing than that to get me in trouble with coach. If he wants the starting position that badly, he's going to have to just be better than me. It's that simple. I won't take their bait.

"I'll bet Cullen doesn't know Bella likes when you go through her back door." Jake snarks as I walk by. "In fact," he glares into my eyes, "I don't think _Cullen_ knows the _real_ Bella at all." I tried to ignore them. I really did, but my pride and the need to protect Bella get the best of me.

I yell in Jacob's direction, pointing my finger at him, "I know more about Bella than you ever did or ever will. Think about that, Black!" I sputter.

Sensing this can only be bad for me, Jacob stalks in my direction very composed and slow. My arms tense as my blood boils over. I'm pretty sure Jake doesn't have the audacity to punch me with the coaches fifteen feet away, but then again, who knows what he has the balls to do? I rub my thumbs in circles on the palms of my hands, willing myself to calm the fuck down.

He puts his face up close to mine and pokes his finger into the center of my chest, right at the bottom of my sternum. Then, in a very arrogant and stern, yet quiet voice he says to me, "I've _had _Bella in every way possible, Cullen. _You _think about that!"

Turning slowly from me, he looks back over his shoulder and then spits in my direction, intentionally hitting the floor just to the left of my foot. With the exception of Marcus, his cronies all chuckle. Jake slams his fist into one of the lockers as he walks back and I cringe, just glaring at all of them. Marcus eyes me warily. He looks like he may even feel sorry for me. While the rest of them all snigger to each other and congratulate Jacob on making me look like an ass, Marcus hangs his head and continues getting dressed.

Once we're back at the hotel room, Jasper asks me what happened. Fortunately, he was in the showers and didn't see my embarrassing episode. Though, I am inexperienced with girls, it doesn't take too much thought to figure out what those pricks were insinuating about my Bella. I wouldn't want Jasper to know that about her, if it is indeed true. I'm not sure who to be more pissed at Jake or Bella. It pisses me off that she doesn't want me even talking to other girls, but I have to endure listening to her prior sexual exploits with her exes. She's such a hypocrite sometimes.

Before we leave for dinner, there is a knock on our hotel room door. I glance up, wondering who it could be since the only three guys I talk to are in this room. Jared answers it, assuming it's his dad. He's wrong. It's Marcus and he asks to speak to me.

I excuse myself from the room. Jared looks at me, silently asking if this is okay. I nod at him with approval and exit the room. Marcus motions for me to follow him a little further down the corridor.

I place both hands in my pocket. Marcus mirrors my stance in silence. Finally, once he looks around to make sure no one is listening, he speaks.

"Listen, Cullen. Jacob and the rest of my friends can be real dicks sometimes."

"Do you think?" I retort sarcastically. He chuckles, then proceeds to tell me that he's sorry and, just as I had suspected, Jacob is trying to get me riled up so I either quit or punch him. Either or, he wants me gone for two reasons. He wants to pitch and he's jealous of my relationship with Bella.

Just then, Marcus's cell phone rings. "It's my sister," he says, "gotta take it."

"Hey Tanya…just standing here with Cullen…yeah…hang on…here…" He hands me the phone. I quirk an eyebrow, but take the iPhone from him and say hello.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck, Edward." Tanya giggles into the phone.

"Oh…uh thanks, I guess." I don't know what to say to her and I couldn't help but wonder if this is all part of Jake's scheme. How much can I really trust Marcus? "See you next week, Tanya."

"Bye," she whispers and sounds a little sad at my abrupt end to the odd conversation.

I don't call, or even text Bella that night. I don't call her the next day either. When I think of her, my mind conjures up images that I don't want to contemplate.

By the time were finished on the second day, I have several text messages and missed calls from Bella. I scroll through them and they don't have much of importance to them. Just a few "hi's" and "miss you's", but the very last text gets my full attention.

*You won't call me but you'll call Tanya? Fuck off Edward*

_Oh Shit!_

_**A/N: Oh shit, indeed! This chapter was a little short and a little late and a little hard to write. I just don't like these two to be mad at each other, so it probably won't last long. Thanks again for reading! Kisses from the RedKat. See you next week!**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer and Twilight. Baseballward is all mine.**_

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_Seven, _the number of days it's been since Bella told me to "fuck off." _Fifty-three,_ the number of times I've tried calling her. _Three_, the number of weeks before the kick-off the spring sport's season, including baseball, and the announcement of starting positions. _Five_, the number of times Marcus has tried to apologize to me and claim he had no idea that Tanya would tell Bella. _Nineteen_, the number of hours it took for Tanya to tell Bella that she had spoken to me. _Thirteen_, the number of times Emmett has called me fucking moron.

"Do you have any idea the impact this has on my life, Edward?" Emmett is laying out his clothes to wear to school tomorrow. He's had at least five different shirts out. The little shit has become such a GQ wannabe since Bella started dressing him months ago. I'm sitting on his floor, playing MLB13 on his PlayStation. I'm about ready to throw the controller at him because he can't stop bringing it up. This is hard enough on me without his incessant whining.

"How exactly, _Em_, does Bella's anger with me have any impact on you? Enlighten me, please."

"Oh I don't know, maybe because I have to ride in the car with the two of you tomorrow morning and it's going to be all '_pout-pout, ignore-ignore, huff-huff'_. Two big fucking babies, neither one willing to give in, and talk this out for the sake of the little brother in the back seat. I don't need that stress right now." He huffs, running his hands through his hair, a habit he has picked up from yours truly, and lays yet another Hollister shirt against his distressed jeans.

"I've tried Em, _I've tried_. She won't talk to me. Do you think I enjoy her ignoring me?" I give up and throw the controller to the floor, then stomp out of my brother's room.

Monday morning. It's not going to be easy going back to school today after a week in Florida with nothing but baseball on my mind. Well, nothing but baseball and _Bella_ on my mind.

When Emmett and I get into Bella's Mustang, I expect _something._ _Anything_, but there is only _nothing_. I want her to see me and change her mind. I want her to look into my eyes and tell me she's sorry for overreacting. I want her to yell at me, scold me, tell me I was wrong for talking to Tanya. I want her to demand an apology. I want her to grab me and pull my face to hers and put her soft, soft lips on me in forgiveness. But there is nothing, just more silence.

The school day drags on and still, more of nothing from Bella. Jasper tells me the rumor around school is that we broke up. I cringe at this news. My stomach knots and turns over. How is it possible to break-up with someone if you haven't spoken to them?

Tanya tries to stop me in the hall on my way to the gym. She tries to apologize and tell me her version of what happened, but I don't have time to listen to her. I've already heard the explanation from her brother. He really "didn't do anything intentionally". It wasn't a "set-up." Marcus claimed he truly did just receive an unplanned phone call from his sister and she really did just ask to talk to me and say "Hi." Tanya's version of how Bella found out was innocent as well. She and Bella were at the same party that night and when Bella asked the other girls if anyone had heard from any of their boys, Tanya spoke up and said she had talked to Marcus and me. That's when Bella lost it.

Though the story sounds plausible, I can't help but think Jake had something to do with it. It turns out however, that Marcus really isn't that good of friends with Jacob. They used to be real tight, but Marcus claims he's sick of Jacob's games. Apparently, Marcus liked Leah and Jake knew but started dating her anyway. Why does High School have to be inundated with such senseless drama?

I ignore Tanya and try to get through the rest of my day.

* * *

Bella and I are in the car on the way home from school. There is nothing between us except more of, well, _nothing_. Emmett isn't with us because he went to a Liam's house to work on a history project. Awkward silence continues and it's really starting to take its toll on me. I've had Bella to talk to almost every night since we got here, since shortly after my mom's death. Bella has occupied my time. She has taken my mind off of serious things. She has eliminated the pain. Now, all of it was all bubbling to the surface once more. It made me realize how truly dependent I was on her. The silence burned, it sliced and tore me open. I wanted to yell. I wanted to scream. I wanted to beg her to just say something!

"Um…Edward," she clears her throat. It's quite possible she hasn't spoken to anyone today because she can hardly get the words out. "I'm going to Chicago this week to see my mother."

My pulse races. I feel a little dizzy. Words get caught in my throat.

"Huh?" I look at her completely confused, "You-Your mom? Your mom's in Chicago? You spoke to her? When? Why didn't you tell me?"

Bella sighs and runs her right hand through her hair. She has also picked up my habit. "Uh…yeah. She called this past weekend. She wants to see me. So…yeah." she shrugs and looks at me innocently. "I didn't tell Dr. Cullen yet. I plan on doing that tonight."

"I'm confused," Squinting, I shake my head. "I thought you hated her. Why are you going there? Did you know she was in Chicago?"

We pull in front of Bella's house. She and I unlatch our seatbelts and climb out of the convertible. Chief Swan is home for a change and his cruiser sits in the driveway.

"Uh…it's complicated, Edward. Dad and I are having dinner together tonight since Dr. Cullen is off. Why don't you come in? I need to explain some things to you." Bella grabs her backpack from the back seat and closes her driver's side door. She swings it over her shoulder and starts heading toward the front porch before I even have a chance to respond.

"Bella wait!" I grab my things and look down at the ground with its patches of snow leftover from the four inches Lewisburg received while we were in Florida.

She stops at the bottom of the steps and turns reluctantly to face me. Taking a deep breath, her eyes meet mine. They reflect defeat. Mine reflect uncertainty. I walk briskly to her and move to take her hand, but she flinches and pulls back, not allowing me to touch what's mine. It breaks my heart. Bella always wants me to touch her. She may have spoken to me, but things are still…_off._

"Can-Can we just talk about what happened last week? Can I just explain?" I plead with her. As much as I want to, I don't attempt to take her hand in mine again.

She rolls her eyes at me and purses her lips, "Just come in the house, Edward." I can't help but notice the annoyance in her tone.

I follow her in, just as I have always followed her everywhere. Chief Swan sits in the front room watching "Law and Order". Doesn't he get to see enough of this shit during the day?

Bella hesitates before heading up the stairs. "Dad, you don't mind if Edward and I, um…" She nods her head in the direction of the upstairs.

He doesn't respond. He simply motions with his hand to go ahead. His eyes never leave the television. The Chief is a man of few words. I continue following Bella into her bedroom. I haven't been in here since the night of the first blow job. Dad is pretty adamant about Bella and I staying at our house and it just dawns on me that I haven't been here in awhile. It looks exactly the same. Her bed is made, but her pillows are scattered across it and there are wadded up tissues on the small table next to her bed. The air is heavy. Bella shows very little emotion on her face so it is difficult for me to determine her mood.

She drops her backpack next to her little desk and it lands with a thud. She must have a lot of homework tonight. I follow her movements as she flops down on her bed. Sitting up straight, she pats the spot next to her as an invitation for me to sit with her.

"My mother is getting re-married, Edward. She wants me to come out to meet her fiancé, Phil." Her tone is serious, all business. I can't tell if this is good news or bad news. I stare into her eyes for a long time. Tears start to form there and I finally get the reaction I've been looking for. She wraps herself around me and begins to cry. I just hold her because that's what I'm here for. This is why I am in her life. This is my job.

"I miss my mom, Edward. I need her." She sits back up and away from me, breaking the physical contact between us and continues, "I've waited so long for her to want me in her life again." Then, she says something that rips out my heart. "If you could have your mother back in your life, Edward, wouldn't you do it?"

And immediately I know. I understand. Bella has an opportunity that I will never have. Tears begin to form in my eyes and I nod my head. It's a small movement, but there is a great amount of support behind it. I reach for her left hand but she pulls away once again. Apparently, she's the only one allowed to do the touching now. I still find this odd.

She clears her throat again, "Edward, I think we need a break." As if I need clarification, she continues, "Me and you, I mean…we need to take a break."

My breath gets caught in my throat. My heart pounds and I can feel a throbbing in my ears, a rush of blood through my body. My hands quiver and my mouth goes dry. I'm frozen, stuck in this moment and I want out of it so badly but I can't seem to find a way.

Bella tears up once more and shakes her head in what I assume is an attempt to try and stay resolute in her decision. She doesn't want me. I live and die for this girl. I survive for her and only her. She is my only reason for staying here. She is my only reason for anything and she doesn't want me.

I'm not sure how much time has passed. What feels like an eternity is probably no more than a few seconds.

"You-you don't want me?" I force the words from my mouth. They are words I never thought I'd say. Not to her. Not this soon.

Bewilderment swarms her eyes and she scrubs her little face with her little hands, trying to find words. "It's not that, Edward. I just-I just…this past week or so was a wake-up call for me. I-I wasn't thinking. You're so young. How can I expect you to be loyal to me? You're a fifteen-year-old boy for God's sake."

Once again, I am reduced to being a naïve child. That's all she's ever thought of me. I was just something she could manipulate. She never wanted me. I think back to that night, that first night, after the skinny dipping when I asked her to be my girl. She refused. Her initial reaction was to refuse me.

She startles me from my thoughts as she stands from the bed. "Edward, just go and be fifteen. Play baseball. Talk to girls. Being in a serious relationship with you is the most selfish thing I've ever done. Why shouldn't you have the opportunities to be young and unattached at fifteen as I did?"

"I'm messed up, Edward. My mom, she messed me up, but she's trying to fix it. She wants to fix it and I want her to. I need to do this. I need to concentrate on this and worrying about you talking to Tanya Denali isn't helping. And it isn't helping you either. I've made you miserable with my pettiness and my selfishness the past few weeks. _She _left me, Edward. I'm always worried everyone in my life will leave me, including you. You shouldn't have to deal with my shit. You shouldn't have to."

And like the fucking moron Emmett tells me I am, I accept it. Well, I don't really accept it. I just pretend I do. I pretend to mask the pain and resentment and devastation. I pretend so that I don't have to be embarrassed when I see her tomorrow or the next day or the rest of the school year.

I feel anger build up inside of me making me believe that I hate her, but hate isn't the opposite of love. Indifference is and if I didn't care then I wouldn't be feeling this massive pain in my body. No. I am not indifferent. I hate because I care. I hate because I love. But I can pretend. I can pretend not to care. It's the only way.

* * *

_Six, _the number of days since Bella devastated my world. _Twelve_, the number of hours I have been holed up in my bedroom since Dad grounded me last night, er-early this morning. Whatever time it was that I fell through the front door, completely inebriated and even a little stoned. _Two_, the number of months I am to be grounded for. My father has put strict restrictions on any and all social time in my life. I am to go to school, go to baseball practice and come right home. I am to stay home on the weekends with the exception of group projects or visits to Pop and other family functions. I must relinquish my cell phone to Dad before bed. No parties. No Philly. No Garrett. No Jasper. No Bella.

I couldn't help myself. Bella was in Chicago doing God knows what with her mother and I needed an outlet for the hurt I was experiencing since she had broken me. So, when Jasper invited me to a party at Ben Cheney's house, I went. When Marcus handed me that plastic red cup as I walked through the door, I drank it and then I drank some more. Then, when Jasper and Alice asked me to smoke up with them in an upstairs bedroom, I said "Lead the way." And when some girl named Bree offered me a blow job in Ben's bedroom, I locked the door and said "Fuck yes."

According to Jasper, Bree had been eye-fucking me all night. He said I needed to fuck Bella out of my system, make myself forget her. He said I needed to get as much pussy as possible using the recently broken-hearted act. "Girls love that shit," Jasper said. "They love thinking they're the girl that will help you get over your ex." In my case, there was a multitude of girls willing to help me get over the infamous Bella Swan, homecoming queen, sweetheart, everyone's favorite girl.

I probably could have had any number of girls last night, but Bree caught my eye. She had shoulder length brown hair with pretty blonde highlights, Bella's hair color but a little lighter. She had big brown eyes with a hint of green throughout them, Bella's shade but a little rounder. She was petite and thin, Bella's build but smaller tits and flatter ass. She was a fake, a phony, an imposter Bella and I liked it.

Jared was hooking up in the other room with Bree's best friend Jane. I recognized them both from school and I knew them to be juniors. Jared asked if they wanted to switch later. Jane smacked him and then giggled before dragging him into Ben's parent's bedroom. That's when I got the offer from Bree that beer and marijuana could not and would not let me refuse.

I didn't use her though. I was kind. I got her off first using my magic fingers. She came hard, but it didn't excite me nearly as much as when Bella came for me. Nothing felt the same. Fuck, I didn't even care that her clothes were still on. I had no desire to see her naked. Then, when she was sucking my dick, it felt good, but it wasn't the same either. Her mouth didn't fit me perfectly like Bella's did. She didn't use her hand the right way. She didn't look up at me through long lashes and she didn't beg me to come in her mouth. She made me tell her when I was going to come so she could move her face out of the way. What the fuck is that shit?

Needless to say, by the time Bree and Jane dropped me off at my house somewhere around two AM, I was thoroughly drunk, stoned and fucked, and it felt unbelievable until I ran right smack into Dad at the bottom of the steps.

So, here I sit, hours later, head pounding, nauseous, regretful and heart-broken, still.

"I hope it was worth it, Edward." My father had said.

"It was," I had laughed as I stumbled into my bedroom.

But truly, it was not. Worth it. It didn't bring Bella back. It didn't bring my mother back. It didn't help me move back to Philadelphia. It didn't get me a starting position on the baseball team. It didn't get me a 4.0. It got me nothing but grounded.

* * *

_One_, the number of hours until the starting line-up of the Varsity Baseball team is revealed. We have our third official practice of the season after school. I wait patiently, or not so patiently, during last period World History. The girl in front of me, I think her name is Becca, keeps turning around annoyed with me bouncing my knee in an effort to calm my nerves. She glares. I smirk. The bell rings. Finally. I attempt to rush past Becca but she steps into my path, slinging her bag over shoulder. I am bless with another glare. I bless her with another smirk.

_Thirty-three_, my brand new jersey number. It hangs in my locker, green with white pinstripes and my number branded in black on the back. I like my new number. It feels good to be number thirty-three. It feels even better to find out that all of my hard work has paid off. All of the months of training and conditioning and hours at the batting cages, all of the promises to my mother and the discussions with Bella have been worth it. The starting line-up roster reads, _Edward Cullen-Pitcher_. It also says _Jasper Hale-Catcher _and more importantly it says _Jacob Black-First Baseman_. Asshole.

He stalks by me and doesn't say a word. He looks through me, in fact. Jared, Jasper and Marcus all come over to congratulate me and yes, number thirty-three feels really good.

I quickly text Dad and Emmett to let them know about my position. My dad is probably with a patient so I don't hear from him immediately. Emmett text reads *Of course you are, you're my brother*. I briefly consider texting Bella, but decide against it. She and I are speaking, barely. I do have to see her every morning after all. She asks about baseball all of the time. I think it's her way of avoiding other, more serious conversations. I can pretend to be indifferent. I can pretend this is all working out for both of us. Bella never asks about Bree and I wonder if anyone has told her. She knew I was grounded for breaking curfew and drinking and coming home partially stoned. Emmett told her, of course. E tu Brute.

As we take to the practice field to start stretches and drills, I quickly look up and say very quietly and discreetly, "I did it, Mom."

I am elated and determined and nervous as fuck. There is a lot riding on my abilities as the team's pitcher. Coach Martz walks over to me after I take the mound and discuss tactics with Jasper. "You taking us to states, Cullen?" He asks and pounds his open hand on my left shoulder.

Feeling terrified and unsure on the outside, I force a smirk across my lips. I look at Jasper and then to Coach, "Yes, sir. All the way."

"Thatta boy," he says, chewing on a big wad of spearmint gum and smacking me on the ass. Jasper and I make eye contact and try not to laugh.

"Let's do this, Cullen," Jasper's eyes are alight and he holds his fist out. I bump my fist to his, "Let's do this."

**_A/N: I just want to thank the lovely ladies that continue to read my silly story and leave me lovely reviews. They make my day and motivate me to keep writing. Please leave me some love. I need it!_**

**_Kisses from the RedKat. See you next week!_**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. **_

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

My sophomore year of high school continues to fly by in a hurried pace. When I first began here in August, I thought the years would drag, but with every day, every week, every month, my life goes faster and faster. That fact remains even with the offset of being committed to solitary confinement for the past six weeks.

Honestly, baseball has me so exhausted that I wonder what I would have done if Bella and I hadn't broken up. I'm not confident that I would have been able to give her the time that is required of a good boyfriend. She probably would have broken up with me in the long run anyway.

As far as my harsh, yet completely necessary punishment, I hardly even notice that I am grounded during the week. The weekends, however, are a different story. It's completely irritating to me that Emmett has more of a social life than I do. Even worse than that, it's devastating to me that I am compelled to see different guys picking Bella up on Friday and Saturday nights, especially when one of them happens to be Reilly Biers.

I shouldn't have even looked out the window when I heard his car pull up. I should have just minded my own business. Bella, somehow, remains my business though. Maybe it's because I still see her every morning. She is still at the house almost every week night. She makes my dinners and straightens up my shit, and giggles at my jokes. She tells me about her mother and I listen. She tells me about college and I listen. Yeah. I would say that Bella is still my business.

But we _don't _talk about guys and we _don't _talk about dating other people and we _don't _talk about what happened between us and we _don't _talk about a future together at all. Bella eventually confronted me regarding the whole "Bree" debacle. Everyone at school found out about it, so it was only a matter of time before someone rubbed into Bella's face.

She remained calm when she inquired about it, but I detected pain behind her words, maybe even a little bit of jealousy. She acted nonchalant but when she made me promise not to become a "_manwhore"_, I suspected it was because she still wanted me all to herself.

Shortly after that, Bella started getting a little flirty with me. It wasn't too blatant, but I took what I could get. She'd tell me I looked hot or she'd comment on my physical transformation since baseball season started. She even rubbed my head the other day after I cut off all of my curls. It was a tradition since I was a little guy. When baseball started, the hair came off.

Bella rubbed my head and it felt _fanfuckingtastic_. She hadn't rubbed anything on my body in weeks. She giggled as she ran her hands over my head. Then, she made some comment about not being able to tug on my hair anymore. She played it off like it was nothing, but it was _something._

Another time, she was at the house wearing some low-cut top that her perfect tits were peaking out of. I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I couldn't help but remember what those tits felt like in my hands, in my mouth, and rubbing up against me. I became hard, of course, at the thoughts swimming around my head. She noticed my erection and her eyes grew wide, just like they used to. She blushed and exited the room quickly, but not before I had a chance to say, "You like what you see there, Bella?"

I've also been spending some time with Pop since I'm not allowed anywhere else. Emmett and I usually go over on Sundays with Dad. Sometimes he comes here, but we always go out for lunch.

When I told him about Bella, he reminded me to keep waiting. That might be easy for him to say, but I don't know how much longer I can wait for her. Besides, waiting means more time, and I hate time.

Time means that Bella is still not my girl. Time means she will be with other guys. Time means not being able to touch her, while others do. Time means she will be gone and with her mother. Time means traveling hours away to Chicago.

Time means four years of college far away, because Bella has decided to go to Northwestern instead of Penn. She hasn't told me yet, but she has told Dad. Her reasoning is that she wants to be close to her mother because they have lost so much _time._

I thought I would at least see her on breaks and possibly some weekends, if she went to school in Philly. Now I realize that once Bella is gone, she's _gone_. Maybe it is better that we broke up now rather than later because these next few months would just have been wasted _time._

_Time flies._

Today is March twenty-eighth, marking our first game of the season. Myself, and the rest of the Lewisburg Green Dragons are playing on our home field tonight against Loyalsock. We've had a few scrimmages and I'm feeling pretty good about beating the Lancers in front of the home crowd. Emmett and Dad are coming. I don't even wonder if Bella will show. She has already told me she has plans. She's flying out to Chicago again to see Renee. Tomorrow is also the start of our Spring Break. Months ago, I couldn't wait until Spring Break, thinking about all the sex Bella and I would be able to have that week and all the different positions we could try out. Now, I'll have to resort to my hand, some lube and visions of Bella in her silver and red g-string. It's the only memory I have left. I wonder if I will ever grow out of it and decide I need a new fantasy. _Probably not_.

I've been watching some porn on my phone. It does the trick, but I always replace the girls' faces in the videos with Bella's. Porn has opened my eyes up to lots of things, including the possibility of threesomes, positions I'd like to try and the fact that I do, indeed, have a very large dick. Without having Bella as my girlfriend, however, it's all just a waste.

You wouldn't imagine it, but baseball players do pay attention to who comes to their games and where they sit. I do, at least. During our warm-up, fans start to trickle into the stands. I see my father and Emmett sitting right in the middle. I see Alice holding a "Jasper, Hale yeah" sign. I see Jane and Bree, sitting right up front. I see Tanya sitting with her mother. She sees me noticing her and she smiles and waves, so I wink.

Then, I see Bella. She's talking to a few of the other players' girlfriends. What is she doing here? She's supposed to be flying out tonight. Merely wearing a pair of dark tight jeans, a green shirt with a hoodie over it, and her hair pulled up in a ponytail on the top of her head, she takes the breath right out of my lungs. She doesn't look any different than I am used to seeing her, but the vision of her leaves me mesmerized, just as it has done so many times before. My fingers go numb, my knees slightly buckle, and my heart pounds. I've felt this before when it comes to Bella and I have come to recognize what exactly it is. It's love. It's my love for her. Instead of making me nervous, her presence makes me confident. With her here, supporting me, I feel like I can do anything.

As time passes, I will always remember my very first game as the starting pitcher for the Lewisburg Dragons. I will always remember looking up into those bleachers and seeing Bella cheering for me there, with my father and brother. I'll remember what she was wearing, how she had her hair in a ponytail on top of her head and the way she clapped her little hands after I struck out the first batter. I'll remember how pleasantly surprised I was as I sat in the dugout, waiting to bat and saw Bella climbing into the bleachers to sit with my dad and Emmett, taking her hoodie off to reveal her Green Dragons t-shirt that says "Cullen" across the back. It was her Christmas present from Emmett.

I will remember all of those things and I will also remember the sweet taste of victory as we beat the Lancers 5-0.

After the game, I jog over to the fence to see my dad and let him know that Jared will give me a ride home and he won't have to wait for me. I can see Bella in the distance with Emmett, lingering as if she is waiting for someone.

As Jasper walks by, my father congratulates him.

"You going to Yorkie's tonight, Cullen?" He asks as he gets to the fence. I look guiltily at Dad. "Oops. I forgot you're still on lockdown. Sorry, Dr. Cullen."

"No problem, Mr. Hale," he retorts, "Unfortunately, Edward will be home with me tonight. No parties for two more weeks."

I turn to look at Jas and roll my eyes. He laughs and says his goodbyes. When I glance back at my father, I find that Bella and Em have made their way over to the fence as well. Bella puts her little fingers into the holes of the chain link. "Congratulations, _Edward_." She says quietly in that soft little voice she used to employ on me before we had gotten so serious. I move to stand in front of her, placing two of my fingers in the holes right above hers. "Thank you, _Bella_."

She looks at me and smiles. So, of course I smile. I'm so close that I can smell her lotion. Other than car rides, I haven't been this close to Bella for weeks.

"I thought you were leaving for Chicago?" I question her.

"I decided to take a later flight, tomorrow morning." She shrugs her little shoulders. "I had something else I that I really needed to do here." She swallows hard and blushes, breaking eye contact with me. No matter what she does, she is still perfection.

Is it possible? Did she change her flight just so she could come to my game?

"I guess it was something important then." I say, nonchalantly.

Her answer gives away no hints, but deep down inside, I know what it means. "Yes. It was, and I'm glad I did."

My time off from school for our Spring Break rushes by in a flash. I have practice every day and an away game on Wednesday night at Hughesville. When I board the bus after the game that night, I find I have a missed call from Bella. She hasn't left a message but the thought of her calling me makes me smile.

I try calling back when I get home before Dad can confiscate my phone for the evening, but it goes to voicemail. I want her to know that I saw that she called but I don't want to sound too desperate, so I send her a quick text.

*Saw that you called. Everything ok?*

Unfortunately, I must turn over the phone to Dr. Doom shortly after. I contemplate sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night to see if she has responded, but then immediately decide against it. I'm too close to having my punishment terminate to take that chance. The next morning I am elated to see that she has, in fact, responded.

*Just wondering who won the game*

Not quite what I was wishing for, but I'll take it. I'll take anything she wants to give me. It was sent last night at ten-thirty-six. Hopefully she remembers the terms of my punishment and doesn't think I am ignoring her.

*We did 3-1. How's Chicago?*

I don't hear back from her all day. Esme has been at our house for the past few nights to help out with the things that Bella normally does. She's nice, but I can't help the eye rolling and dirty looks that present themselves even though it's unintentional on my part. Emmett doesn't really speak to her at all. She tries to make conversation with me as I set the table, but I don't give her much to work with.

"So, Edward, how is baseball going?"

"Good."

"Do you still have that same girlfriend?"

"Nope."

"Your dad tells me you want to study pre-med."

"Yep."

She doesn't try as hard during dinner. Emmett takes his upstairs. I play Candy Crush on my cell phone at the table. Dad would kill us if he knew, but she won't tell him. She's got too much to lose. Emmett and I recognize this and we take advantage of it.

Because even though time has passed, it's still too soon. There still hasn't been enough _time_. And maybe someday, I'll be able to have a conversation at the dinner table with Esme, but I right now I just need a little more _time._

I don't hear back from Bella at all on Wednesday. So, I am elated when my phone rings Thursday afternoon and I hear "My Chick Bad" coming from the tiny speaker. It's been so long since she's called me that I forgot to change her ringtone. It makes me smile, so I don't think I will.

"Hey." I say, breathing heavy because that's what Bella does to me.

"Hey," she pauses and there is a sort of awkward lull over the phone, "Congratulations on game two."

I smile again because I can't seem to stop myself, "Thanks. How are things in Chicago?" It feels odd to be on the phone with her again discussing such mundane things, as if nothing has ever happened between us.

"It's…um. It's good. I toured Northwestern again and I…uh…think I'm going to be happy here. My mom, sh-she's been great. She and Phil have a nice new house and I have an awesome bedroom with my own bathroom." She hesitates on just about everything that comes out of her mouth.

I want to be happy because she's happy. So, I force words out even though there is no sincerity behind them, and I hate lying to her.

"Well that sounds cool. Good for you."

And it sounds contrived, and it sounds pathetic and I know she sees right through my lies. So, she ends the conversation there.

"Well, I'll let you go. Just wanted to check on how the game went. See you later, Edward."

"Goodbye."

_Time flies. A little more._

March has quickly turned into April. Rain showers inundate our life here in Lewisburg. The tulips that Mrs. McAndrews must have planted many years ago bloom all over our front yard. There are red ones near the front door and pink and yellow amongst the landscaping. It's remarkable how nature maintains itself throughout time. How many years ago had she planted those bulbs? Did she have any idea that they would stand the test of time or that they would continue to bloom as a new family occupied her home?

Our baseball team remains undefeated as of now. I've managed to strike out dozens of players and my focus remains fervent. I have given myself one hundred percent to this team and to the game. What else have I had to do? Though I won't tell him, I'm sort of glad that Dad grounded me for so long. I don't know what might have happened if I continued partying at the rate I was going.

Some days, I play just for my mom, knowing she wanted this for me in the worst way. Some days, I play for myself. I play for the love of the game, for a possible career or for a college scholarship. But most days, _most days_, I play for the perfectly beautiful girl that continues to own my heart. She has come to most of my games, even some away games. Sometimes, she even rides with my dad and Emmett, just like she's my real girlfriend again.

I play for her. I play because it makes me feel good to see her cheering. I play because I know that I'll get a "congratulations" text or call from her afterwards. I play because she told me that my ass looks cute in my baseball pants.

We even kissed the last night. Bella was at our house, after our home game against Central on Friday. The weather had temporarily warmed up as it often does in Pennsylvania in the spring and we were sitting on the back patio, drinking sodas and eating pizza. Bella was wearing my hoodie because she got a little chilly and I didn't want her to have to go home to get her own. It thrilled me to see Bella in my clothes. It was a Lewisburg Baseball one, with "Cullen" written on the back. I told her she could keep it. Secretly, I wished she would wear it to the next game.

We talked about everything and anything and it reminded me of our first few weeks together before things got serious. It was like old times and it made me forget that Bella had been seeing other guys. Surprisingly, she didn't have a date that night.

"Those aren't _dates_, Edward." She told me after I had made a comment about Riley taking her out the week before.

"Oh…just hook-ups then?" I had asked, before breaking eye contact and shoving a pizza slice in my mouth before I said anything else.

Her little face turned red and her little fists balled up in her lap. "No." She replied adamantly and with much irritation in her voice. She was silent for awhile after that and I thought I had really pissed her off this time.

Later on, we sat on a blanket near the edge of the pool, which was still covered for the winter. We positioned ourselves Indian style with the tips of our knees touching and Bella told me all about her mother and the house in Chicago. We talked about how excited she was to start at Northwestern and, as much as I was dreading her leaving me, I couldn't help but to be happy for her. She deserved to have her dreams come true. I just hoped that her dreams had included me, too.

She also deserved to spend "catch-up" time with Renee. This, I completely understood. I would give my pitching arm for "catch-up" time with my mom, therefore I would never let anyone, including myself, deny her of that one wish.

Bella asked how things have been going with Jacob and me, as far as baseball goes. I told her that Jacob's beef with me obviously has nothing to do with baseball and _everything_ to do with her because he's been fine since we broke-up. She said he tried to call her once to hook-up, but she blew him off in a nice way. The thought of Brawnie with his hands on her again sickened me.

As the night moved on, the air proceeded to become chillier and damper. Bella was shivering and I found myself wanting to hold her and warm her little body up in my arms. Before my hands got a mind of their own, I suggested we head back inside.

Dad was home, as well. We found him sitting on the sectional in the family room with his feet up, reading a book. The television was turned down low, but the light flickering from it created a soft glow in the otherwise darkened room. He took his glasses off when Bella and I entered from the kitchen. He eyed me warily and I shrugged my shoulders. I knew what he was silently asking me, but I just didn't know the answer. I watched as Bella nervously played with the strings on my hoodie.

"Well," she announced timidly, "I guess I should get going." With hesitation, she rocked back and forth from her toes to her heels. It was obvious she didn't want to go. It was obvious she wanted me or Dad to invite her to stay. I bit my tongue. Dad took the bait.

"Is Charlie working tonight?"

"Um…yes, sir. He's working an overlap tonight, seven to three."

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was only nine-thirty and I didn't want her to leave, but I didn't want to ask her to stay either. I pleaded to Dad with my eyes. He sensed my discomfort and threw me a bone.

"Well, why don't you stay in the guest room? Would you feel more comfortable here rather than over there by yourself?"

"If you wouldn't mind, sir?"

"Of course not, Bella," Dad assured her. "Edward, walk Bella over to her house so that she can get her things." He winked at me.

You know what? Sometimes my dad is really cool.

"Sure…uh…I'm just going to get a jacket." I rushed to the closet in the foyer and grabbed the first thing my fingers reach. Then, I called to Bella to let her know I was ready.

Once we stepped down off of the front stoop, Bella interlocked her little arm in mine and got as close to me as she could. Butterflies danced in my stomach just like they used to…_before, _before so much time had passed, before we were Bella and Edward, before we were…_us._

I looked down at her, but her eyes remained on the path ahead of us. When we got to her porch, she quickly let go and dug in her pocket for her keys. I became nervous as we entered the little Cape Cod. The last time I was here, she broke my heart into a thousand pieces.

I lingered in the hall downstairs as Bella packed an overnight bag. My eyes glanced over the small table that sits in the hall, where Chief Swan keeps his mail and keys. I spied a letter with the now all-too-familiar Northwestern insignia letterhead at the top.

_Ms. Swan,_

_We are pleased to inform you of your acceptance into our University's Journalism Department. Enclosed you will find all necessary paperwork to commit to our University, along with the financial aid information you have requested._

_Should you have any other questions, please contact the Admissions Department._

"Edward," she yelled from upstairs, "Can I just borrow your toothpaste so I don't have to pack any?"

"Sure," I yelled back up the stairs to her, quickly placing the letter back in the spot in which I had found it. Bella bounded back down the stairs, her mood much more upbeat than earlier in the evening.

"Ready." She told me.

_And I knew she was ready. I just read the letter that told me she was._

I'm not sure why or how, but Bella ended up watching television in my room with me. Dad had gone to bed and Emmett was once again locked in his room with his PlayStation.

We layed side by side, but not touching, with our backs propped up against pillows as some stupid movie played on the SyFy channel. Bella loves those crazy-stupid movies. I'll watch anything she wants to watch.

I'm not sure when, but we both dozed off somewhere between Bigfoot and a killer shark. A shriek from the television startled me from my slumber. Bella was curled up under my arm. Her head was lying on my chest and her little fist was up on my shoulder. I couldn't resist the urge, so I kissed the top of her head ever so lightly and the scent of her hair brought back so many memories. She moved a little and then woke up, looking at me with questions in her sleepy eyes. Bella, always with those questions, even when she's not using words.

It happened before I even had a chance to second guess it. She picked her head up towards mine and I lowered mine to hers. Our lips were almost touching. I asked silently with my eyes. She answered by placing her lips to my chin and then to the corner of my mouth. As soon as her lips were on mine, I took her bottom one in between mine. Feelings that I haven't experienced in months, surged through my body. They started in the bottom of my stomach and reached outwards in all directions, claiming my whole body from the ends of my hair to the tips of my toes.

Bella latched on to me tightly. She tried to grab for my hair as she always used to, but there's nothing to really grab onto like before. She giggled my favorite giggle when she realized this. I rolled over onto to her and we kissed, our hands never leaving each other's faces. We kissed, and time stood still. We kiss, and time moved on.

Eventually, Bella excused herself to go to sleep in the guest room. I'd like to ask her if this means she's my girlfriend again. I'd like to ask her to stay. I wanted to ask her to be with me. But, there is one thing I've learned about Bella, she doesn't like to answer questions nearly as much as she likes to ask them. So, I let it be. Everything was in her hands. She holds all the control, and with one question she could make or break me, and part of me doesn't want to know the answer.

I glanced over at the clock, twelve-sixteen. Time has passed into a new day.

_Time goes on._

I don't see Bella the rest of the weekend. She makes herself scarce, probably because she completely regrets kissing me. I try not to think about it. I have an AP English exam on Monday and a game on Tuesday, so luckily my mind is preoccupied.

At practice on Monday, Jasper asks me if I've heard about Riley and Bella. My heart sinks. It pounds erratically and I swallow the lump in my throat.

"They're going to Prom together," he continues, even though I do not request a clarification, "Riley told Jared that he asked her yesterday and she said yes."

Just when I thought I had a second chance. Just when I thought time had been kind to me again.

And it's amazing what time can do to a person. I feel as though I've aged ten years in the last eight months. I feel like what I've been through is more than the rest of these immature teenagers will experience in a lifetime. I've lost my mother, moved two and a half hours from the only home I've ever known, started at a new high school, met and fell in love with the girl of my dreams, lost my virginity in what can only be explained as the best night of my entire existence, and then lost love. Time has caused heartbeats and heartaches. Time has healed and time has wounded. Time has moved forward, yet time has held me still. So, now it is time to just move on through time, once again.

_**A/N: First of all, I need to thank each and every one of you who are sticking with this story. Your reviews mean everything to me. Thanks to for inspiring me to use the word "manwhore" in this chapter. **_

_**I am going away next weekend so there will be no update. Sorry!**_

_**As always, kisses from the RedKat. See you in two weeks!**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**This chapter ended up being so long, I decided to break it into two, which is why you are getting an early post tonight. **_

_**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to our queen, Ms. Meyer. Baseballward is mine.**_

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

"I can't believe you're going to just let this happen."

Emmett's been on my case since I told him that Bella is going to the prom with Riley. I really wish I hadn't told him, but I was so pissed by the time I got home that night that I had to tell someone. Emmett was available.

As much as I agree with him that I can't let this happen, I have no idea what to do to stop it. Since the day I met Bella, she's always responded to my jealousy with bitterness. I don't want to say anything to anger her too much. We've been hanging out a lot more since we kissed that night. We've even made out a few more times, but it stopped with the kissing. Nothing more, nothing less.

I'm so exhausted playing these games with Bella. We're off. We're on. She wants me. She doesn't want me. We kiss. We stop. Hot. Cold. She has my head spinning. She leaves and then she always comes back, _running_.

"Em," I attempt in vain to run my fingers through my hair, but there isn't quite enough grown in yet, "I don't know what to do to stop it. What do you want from me?"

"You don't know how? Just say, 'Bella. Don't go to the prom with Riley.'"

I groan in frustration, "I can't, Em. I just can't."

I wish it was that easy, but Bella is not my girl anymore. I keep trying to tell myself it's all for the best since she's leaving for college in a few months anyway. It's occasions like this that make me so aggravated by my age. If I were a senior, or even a junior, _I _could have asked Bella to the prom. My age and inexperience have been a constant deterrent for me. Bella and these other guys always have the upper hand. Maybe I should just stick to girls my own age.

I guess I could always do the immature thing and call Bree for a hook-up. God knows she's made it obvious that she's willing to give me more than a blow job next time. It would just be a temporary fix though. It will never fill the void.

* * *

It's three days before prom and I've finally had enough of the prom gossip. The guys, including Jared, Jasper and Marcus have been making comments to me all night at practice. Apparently, Riley has been telling people that he's rented a hotel room for him and Bella. Even though I truly don't believe that Bella would stay overnight with him, the thought sickens me. It also makes me worry about her smoking weed again.

I no longer have the ability to stand by and listen to the nonsense without asking Bella herself. I've tried to stand by and let her figure out whatever shit she needs to work out. I've tried to be quiet and not question her motives. I don't ask her any questions even though I've answered _all_ of hers. I've _waited_. I know it's time to approach her. I know I need to tell her how I feel. I also know the reaction I'm probably going to get. So, I'm really not surprised by her response to my question.

"It's _nothing_, Edward. It's prom for God's sake. You know how I feel about those things."

Her little hands are on her little hips striking the pose that has now become my kryptonite. She's rolling her eyes at me and making that face that I could have predicted only seconds before it appeared there. She's still beautiful, still perfect. I love her when she's angry as much as I love her when she's being sweet or innocent, or even a little sex kitten. I love all of her.

"Oh come on, Bella. You know what happens at prom." I whine, sounding like the little boy that she already thinks I am.

"No, _Edward_. Please, tell me what happens _at prom_." Now, her arms are folded across her chest, guarding me from a perfect view of her tits. Her impatience with me has grown exponentially, and to be honest, I don't care anymore.

I think about her request for clairification long and hard. She knows what I'm getting at. Why does she have to always answer my questions with another question? I'm not in the mood to play games. I'm tired and I'm hungry, and I have homework to finish.

"People hook up." I spit at her. She laughs, not her giggle that I love so much, but a loud forced laugh. I grab my baseball equipment and my backpack, and turn to walk away from her. I don't have time for her bullshit avoidance tactics.

"Edward, please," she stops me dead in my tracks before I even get out of the kitchen. There is sincerity in her quiet voice and she's back to being my Bella again as quickly as she was gone, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you." I slowly put my bags down and turn to look her in the face. The sincerity on her faces matches her words. "I was laughing at the thought of hooking up with Riley. I mean, really? He smells like cigarettes and patchouli."

She smiles then, and it's her perfect smile that I love. I try to run my fingers through my hair but, once again, it still has not grown back in enough. So, I resort to merely rolling my eyes at myself and my immaturity. I should know better to think that Bella would hook up with Riley, but I just can't tell with her anymore.

I take a deep breath and blow air out of my mouth. The action reminds me of something my dad would do. "I'm sorry, too. I just don't know anymore, Bella." I shrug my shoulders at her, shaking my head.

"You don't know what?" Bella whispers.

"Oh…I don't know. Who you're dating? Who you're _fucking_? What happened to make you not want me anymore?"

She winces at my words and I'm satisfied. I want her to feel the pain I am feeling. I stare at her and wait for some kind, _any kind_, of response. She breaks eye contact with me and starts picking at her fingernails.

"I've hurt you." She finally confesses, never looking up from her fingers. "I've tried to do what's best for you and I've hurt you."

The room is dead quiet. The only sound is that of the dishwasher running. What's best for me? What the hell is she talking about? I plead with her using my eyes, willing her to continue. We stare at each other and I feel as if we are at some sort of crossroads with our relationship. The connection is either there or it isn't.

"No one." Bella finally chokes out. She takes a deep breath, fighting off her tears in vain.

"What?" I looked at her with confusion.

"I'm answering your questions. _No one_. I haven't been dating or _fucking_ anyone and I resent the fact that you think I am. As for 'not wanting you' anymore, nothing could be further from the truth. I-I…" Her words get stuck in her throat. The tears roll over as she folds her arms around herself. I can't stand seeing her like this.

"Bella, no," in three quick strides I'm at her side and she's in my arms, "Please don't cry. _Please_."

She shakes silently into my chest and I feel wet tears through my dirty practice t-shirt. I rub my hands up and down her back as she fists my t-shirt in her tiny hands.

"You know, my armpits are probably pretty rank right now and I smell like boys locker room. Maybe you don't want to be this close to me."

Bella laughs through her tears, rubbing her face on me. It's not her little giggle, but it's not the forced laughed from earlier. It's almost like a laugh of relief, a sigh and a sniffle. She pulls away from me slightly and looks up into my eyes. It appears that there is something that she wants to say to me, but she hesitates. I pray that she won't turn me away from her again.

"Tell me, Bella," I demand quietly, "so that I can go take a shower."

She giggles and it makes my heart warm and my lips smile. Taking a deep breath, she unclenches her fists and places her little hands flat on my chest. If it's even remotely possible, she stares deeper into my eyes, searching for something as she has so many times before.

"I need you, Edward. I can't stay away from you anymore. I'm so sorry I hurt you." Her eyes fill up again. I want to kiss her tears away. I want to take her pain away. I want to tell her that I love her, but I know that I can't. Not yet, anyway.

As much as Bella has destroyed me, as much as she has held my scarred heart in her hands, as much as I have also held hers, I don't have the willpower to stay away from her any longer. The bottom line is that I need her, too.

So, I do what any other fifteen-year-old boy would do. I kiss her. Her lips are so soft from crying. This time it's my turn to take her breath away. It hitches in her throat as she allows her lips to meld with mine. I kiss her as though my life depends on her breath, and she kisses me as if she needs my lips to survive. It feels so wrong, yet so very right at the same time. It's the same way that it always feels with her. It's always the same.

"Jesus. You two are at it _again_?" My little brother's voice invades my kissing time with Bella. "I can't keep up anymore. It's like a damn episode of the Kardashians!" He walks toward us.

Bella and I laugh and it's a nice reprieve from the intense kissing episode we just engaged in. It feels good to laugh. It feels even better to be needed.

"And shit, it smells like a fucking locker room in here, you hog." He sniffs me and Bella laughs some more.

"You know, Em. If it weren't for you, Bella and I would have our tongues down each other's throats by now." I tell him and he makes a gagging noise. "Was there something that you needed because I'd really like to finish kissing her?"

"I wanted a drink. Can the two of you manage to contain your hormones for sixty seconds?" Emmett says with disgust. He opens the refrigerator door and rummages around, finally settling on some orange juice. He drinks straight from the bottle as he leans on the countertop.

I point to the clock on the microwave, "Tick tock. Time's up." I say, pulling Bella back into me. I give my brother the finger behind Bella's back as I kiss the shit out of her. We don't even hear him leave, but by the time we've come up for air, he's gone.

* * *

I stand in the shower attempting to make sense of what just happened downstairs. Bella told me she needed me. Now that I have that tidbit of knowledge, I want her so desperately. I want her in my bed, beneath me, on top of me, just with me. I've waited long enough. I just worry that I'll become all wrapped up in her once again, and she'll shatter my heart just as she has all those times before.

I'm surprised to find Bella propped up on my bed watching television when I get out of the shower. When she sees me in just my towel, she eyes me like I'm a piece of candy. I love naughty Bella, too.

"Baseball has been good to you, _Edward._" She raises her eyebrows at me.

"Really, do you think so, _Bella_?" I ask and flex my muscles in an exaggerated motion. Bella giggles my favorite giggle and we're back. Just like that. We're back to being Bella and Edward again.

"Go put some clothes on, Romeo. You're going to distract me and I think we need to talk about some things out before I touch you." I willingly oblige. After all, she did say "_before_"I touch you.

I change in the bathroom, though I'm not sure why. This girl has seen me naked on numerous occasions. I throw on my usual t-shirt and mesh shorts and when I come back out, Bella is sitting up a little straighter on my bed. I throw myself down next to her and lie on my back, placing my hands behind my head in a very Emmett-like fashion.

Bella and I talk for nearly an hour about _everything_. We talk about what happened between us, the sadness we both felt while we were broken up, the jealousy over other guys and girls, but most of all we talk about how much we need each other. It feels good to get it all out in the open. I've felt this way about Bella since the moment I saw her, but I was so afraid to admit those feelings to her or myself, for that matter. There is still another four letter word that neither of us has had the courage to utter. I fear if I tell Bella I love her, I'll scare her away. I fear her feelings aren't that strong for me.

I try to bring up Northwestern, but Bella won't have it. She hushes me with kisses instead, which I really don't mind. When I look at the clock, I realize it's almost time for Dad to come home and I still haven't eaten dinner or done any homework. As much as I don't want to leave Bella and my bed, I ask her to come downstairs with me so I can reheat my dinner.

Bella made tacos tonight. I'm not sure if they're really that good or if I'm just starving. As I shove a third taco smothered in sour cream into my mouth, Bella begins to clean up the mess I've made. I tell her she's an amazing baby-sitter and she smacks me with a dishtowel, telling me I'm "dirty." I like being "dirty."

"Edward," her little meek voice is back, "there's only one more thing we need to talk about."

I know what it is. She doesn't even need to say it. The only thing we didn't talk about upstairs was prom. I concentrate on my chewing, refusing to make eye contact with her.

"Edward?"

I swallow quickly, "Yep. I know."

"You do?"

I simply nod my head, still not looking at her. She's going to crush me again. I just know it.

"Listen. I won't go…with Riley. I don't really like those things anyway. _Dances. _And my dress wasn't that expensive and I could probably wear it to something else, but…"

It takes a few moments for me to catch up to her words and I'm only half listening as they start to sink in. She's not going to go to prom. For me? As much as I don't want her to go, I can't let her miss her senior prom.

"Bella, stop," I finally raise my eyes to her. "You have to go. It's your senior prom."

"I can't go with Riley though." She gives me her sad eyes. The eyes that make me want to kiss her pain away. Well, I want to kiss her for just about everything she does, but _those_ eyes make her particularly kissable.

I hope she's not insinuating what I think she is. I can't take her to prom. Can I? I mean, I can't even drive. I don't have a tux. It's probably too late to get dinner reservations anywhere. Every place in Lewisburg is probably booked.

"Bella, I-"

"It's okay, Edward. I'd rather be with you on Saturday night. I don't care where we are." She says and then smiles. It's her real smile and not her fake one. It's the one she reserves for me and I know there is honesty behind her words.

I stand up to take my dish to sink, and because I want to be closer to her. After I set my dish down, I wrap my arms around her from behind and take in her scent. She wraps her arms over mine.

And I know what I need to do. This girl, who has made me so happy in the last few hours, she deserves the same happiness in return. I immediately begin devising the plan in my head. I will need some help, but fortunately for me, I have a very good support system.

"Do you want me to take you to your prom, Bella?" I ask timidly because I'm not one hundred percent positive that was what she was hinting at.

"Will you?" She turns in my arms and when I see her eyes, they are alight. I can't help myself. She's always had this effect on me. I nod my head ever-so-slightly.

Bella jumps up and throws her arms around my neck, giggling and squealing. "I wanted to go with you all along, Edward. You know how I get when I see you all dressed up." She raises her eyebrows at me.

"Hmmmm…No. I don't. I think you need to remind me."

And I get another kiss from her sweet, sweet mouth.

* * *

I don't necessarily want to make this phone call right now, but I know that the person on the other end will be able to help with my strategy to take Bella to the prom.

When my father arrived home last night from the hospital, I pounced on him immediately. He was a little apprehensive about Bella and I getting back together, but favorable all the same. Dad told me he would help me as much as he could, but there was someone else that I should contact. This person would be able to take care of my needs.

So, as I stare at the number that Dad programmed into my phone last night, I internally struggle with my decision to hit the call button. Eventually, based on the need to make Bella happy, I cave.

It rings a few times, then a quiet, sweet voice answers.

"Hello."

"Esme."

"Edward? Is something wrong?"

I make arrangements for Esme to pick me up right after baseball practice. She said it's probably too late for me to rent a tux, but I can probably buy one if we make to the mall before they close. Dad gave me the black AmEx, so I'm golden. Esme also has a relative that owns a limousine company about thirty miles from here, and she promises to call him and see if they have a car available for Saturday.

Bella has the difficult job. She has to tell Riley she won't be going with him, but with me instead. Bella thinks he'll be fine. She said he'll probably just toke up and be over it. I'll take her word for it.

On the drive over to the mall, Esme informs me that she has arranged for the limo to pick Bella and Gianna up and take them to the day spa to have their hair, nails and make-up done. It was Esme's idea to include Gianna because she didn't think Bella would want to do those things by herself. She also tells me that Bella's flowers have been ordered, white calla lilies and white roses. I wanted pink, but Bella told me her dress was red and Esme says they won't match. Then, she surprises me when she says she ordered a small bouquet of pink roses for Bella to find in the limo when it picks her up to go to her appointments. Score one point for Esme. She's going to help me get laid.

The only glitch so far has been dinner. I was right, all of Lewisburg is booked. Esme thinks it would be a good idea to cook for Bella. I tell her I only know how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She smiles at me from the driver's seat and tells me that's perfect. She thinks Bella will love it.

I just hope that Bella loves _me._

**_A/N: I hated Bella and Edward being apart as much as you ladies did. So, there are happy times ahead. But I have to warn you, it is only temporary. There will only be 2 or 3 more chapters in the present time. After that, the story will flash 6-7 years into the future. You didn't actually think these two were going to live HEA in high school, did you? They need to be adults for that!_**

**_Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I read and respond to every reviewer. I love how you ladies think. Kisses from the RedKat. I'll see you this weekend!_**


End file.
